


Heaven is anytime, anywhere

by Gigi_Bell



Series: Domestic [1]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Baby Do Kyungsoo | D.O, Baby Kim Jongin | Kai, CEO Park Chanyeol, Domestic, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Sexual Harassment, M/M, Mpreg, Past Domestic Violence, Single Parent Byun Baekhyun, Soft Park Chanyeol, Speech Disorders, Sweet Park Chanyeol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-10
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:01:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 53
Words: 138,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23575048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gigi_Bell/pseuds/Gigi_Bell
Summary: Byun Baekhyun was trying to be a functioning adult, but the world never made things easy for him.Park Chanyeol wanted to help that change.(Completed At Chapter 37)
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Park Chanyeol
Series: Domestic [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2106516
Comments: 617
Kudos: 1188





	1. Crash & Fall

**Author's Note:**

> This work is solely mine, I do not allow stories to be posted on any other site, and any translations that are done will be posted here on my own page, I don’t allow my works to be posted under any other accounts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story will have a few questionable events, most will be implied, but please read the tags!
> 
> 1/26/21 edited

Chanyeol was _fucking_ pissed.

Well, pissed could probably be an understatement - one of his assistants had called in sick and he had so much shit he needed to get done.

He knew he couldn’t fault the man, male pregnancies tended to be harder on them than females, but he was just so stressed out.

It was his own fault, he had been out getting drunk with Sehun rather than filling out producing rights for the album that, admittedly, his assistant had tried to get him to do weeks before.

Chanyeol just hated to admit he had fucked _himself_ over.

So, now he was running all over, becoming even more livid because today _would_ be the deadline day.

It was a horrible day, he hadn’t even driven to work that day, too hungover, and had Sehun drop him off that morning.

Now he could choose to take a taxi, but that wasn’t an option considering it would take him an hour to just find a taxi in this traffic, so he had to walk.

The idol group’s company was merely around the corner, so it wasn’t too bad of a walk, but he only had thirty minutes and he was hungover so bad that his scowl felt permanent.

Fucking Sehun and his goddamn peer pressure, Chanyeol blamed, fully knowing that it was his own fault - but Sehun couldn't give two fucks if Chanyeol yelled at him, so it was easier on the producer’s conscience to blame it on his friend.

Chanyeol, millionaire producer, running to a music company to ensure he makes the deadline to claim rights for producing a fucking album - as if he _really_ needed the money.

It was more for pride’s sake that he wanted to ensure his name was on that album and that money was going to his company.

He was a prideful man, but also wasn’t it common sense to want recognition for his work?

This only reminded him that he should’ve fucking listened to Jongdae and started searching for a replacement assistant already, but Chanyeol was a lazy son of a bitch and knew it.

That was why everything seemed to backfire lately.

And, as usual, his stinging headache he would blame for his stupidity as he ran, or more like slammed, into a small back.

Chanyeol didn’t really feel the impact, but the smaller fell to the ground with a loud hiss, falling completely onto his front on the sidewalk.

“Fucking shit.” Chanyeol cursed, staring at the back of a person dressed in a black hoodie, the hood pulled over his head, “Fuck- I’m sorry, in a rush. I gotta go-“

He didn’t get to finish as the words got stuck in his throat when the smaller rolled to sit down on the sidewalk instead of sprawled out, holding an arm to their chest.

And Chanyeol immediately forgot everything he was doing, and saying.

He’d never seen so effortlessly _beautiful._

The man had a pretty heart shaped face and pink lips, brown eyes wide at the sudden attack, and a head full of brown curls hidden under his hood. His black hoodie was on it's last string, the stitching sticking out oddly.

“Fuck - _fuck,_ I’m so sorry.” Chanyeol caught his words and reached out to offer a hand, “Did I hurt you? Fuck, I’m an idiot, I’m so sorry.”

Now that he was helping the smaller up, Chanyeol's eyes caught a lanyard around the man’s neck, the name of a nearby diner on it.

Before he could make himself look more of an idiot Chanyeol noticed an old phone on the ground and felt like passing out at the shattered screen. “Fuck, I’ll buy you a new one.” He promised, kneeling down to pick it up and offer it to the man.

As soon as the man accepted it, Chanyeol was digging in his pocket for his wallet, “How much do you need? Two hundred should get you a new one, right? Maybe three just for knocking you over.”

He heard a scoff, and Chanyeol realized he must have looked ridiculous. “You’re right, that's not enough, five can get you a really nice one.”

“It was already broken, you didn’t break it.” The man said loudly, shaking his head and stuffing his hands into the nearly ripped off front pocket of his hoodie.

Chanyeol was either losing his mind, or this was the sweetest voice he had ever heard, even if there was an obvious edge to it. “Don’t worry about it, I just knocked you down like a car - at least let me give you something.”

“I don’t want your money.” The man rolled his eyes and Chanyeol, while wanting this man’s name, attention, and feeling horrible, walked along as the man started walking away.

“Please, if I don’t do anything I’ll feel horrible.” Chanyeol begged.

Suddenly, Chanyeol realized where he was.

Just to his left was the music company where he was supposed to hand over the envelope in his pocket, but the smaller man was simply walking over to the park bench, it wasn’t a park Chanyeol usually came to, he had never really been to parks at all, but it was mostly empty.

“Don’t care about your money, you’re good - you can go wherever you ran me over to get to.”

“What’s your name?” Chanyeol sighed and took a seat beside the man, unsure of where the smaller was even looking because he seemed to be looking over his shoulder more than _at_ him, “I feel horrible, at least let me sincerely apologize.”

The man’s eyes showed something like surprise before he was frowning, “Byun Baekhyun.”

“Baekhyun.” The taller smiled, “I’m Park Chanyeol.”

Baekhyun's lip curved into something reminiscent of a smile for the first time and Chanyeol knew this was it, he had to know him. “I thought you were asking to apologize.”

“I thought so too.” The producer blurted before watching Baekhyun laugh at his response.

“Well, you’re certainly not as slick as I expect- _Jongin, Kyungsoo, no!”_

Baekhyun was suddenly standing to his feet with a scolding expression, and Chanyeol nearly ran after him when the smaller rushed the short few feet to grab a small child from the swing.

 _Oh, Baekhyun must have had little brothers,_ Chanyeol grinned. He loved little kids, and the two tiny ones being scolded by the man looked cute.

He couldn’t hear what the smaller was saying, but he looked extremely scolding as he grabbed one of the small hands and held the other on his hip.

The smaller of the two already looked near tears as Baekhyun pulled his hand and made him walk along.

“Do you need help?” Chanyeol stood to his feet and nearly hit himself for being blind as he watched Baekhyun kneel down in front of an old double seated stroller.

It was rusted on the metal and the fabric that looked like it was once a vibrant red was sun stained and more an odd orange than anything, Chanyeol frowned.

“Fuck, what time is it?” Baekhyun cursed, buckling the two small babies inside the stroller and rubbing his thumb over the smaller, wide eyed one’s cheek when he started fussing.

Chanyeol pulled out his phone, “Uh, noon.”

“Fucking shit, _fuck._ Kyungsoo, stop crying, baby. We have to go. I need to get to work.”

Baekhyun looked so frantic Chanyeol could almost feel it in his own chest.

He didn’t even have a chance to say anything, just watching Baekhyun pull the sun shade over the two babies and then he was practically running away.

Chanyeol sighed, rubbing his temple and somehow feeling rejected even though he hadn’t even asked anything of Baekhyun.

He groaned again as he took a seat on the bench, laying his head on his forearms.

Baekhyun was so pretty, Chanyeol really liked pretty things, and it didn’t help that the two kids were so cute, adorable, and he hadn’t even heard much more than sad sniffles from the two after their scolding.

Just as he was about to kick himself out of his bout of self pity, he was distracted by the sound of vibrating beside him.

The shattered, old cell phone was still right where he recalled Baekhyun setting it, on the bench.

Chanyeol laughed in disbelief, grabbing the device and shoving it in his pocket.

Good thing he remembered the words on the lanyard; he remembered everything he had seen on Baekhyun really.

Honestly, he wasn’t even pissed he had lost out on a good few thousand because he had passed the deadline.

Not when he had a reason to see Baekhyun again.

  
***

“Dude.” Sehun snorted, nearly spilling his beer and making Chanyeol send him a warning look across the couch, “You’re whipped.”

“He was _fine.”_ Chanyeol argued, “And don’t spill shit, this is leather.”

“You’d just buy a new one.” The other rolled his eyes, going as far as to shake his glass bottle just to piss off Chanyeol.

“How the fuck does Luhan put up with you?” Chanyeol growled, grabbing his phone from the coffee table and scrolling through his group chat.

Fucking Sehun always outting him immediately, now he had Yifan, Yixing, and Jongdae hassling him for details.

“The sex is good.” Sehun shrugged, grabbing the remote and promptly ignoring Chanyeol.

The producer rolled his eyes, “You're disgusting.”

Sehun didn’t bother him with a response, only throwing his feet up on the table.

Chanyeol was half tempted to point out that this was very much his house and not Sehun’s, and that the table was _luxury_ ivory, but knew the other wouldn’t give two fucks.

God, he really needed some new friends.

“So when are you going to go embarrass yourself some more?” Sehun suddenly cackled.

Chanyeol felt his ears redden and he growled, punching Sehun’s arm, “I didn’t fucking embarrass myself, okay? It was just an accident.”

“Sounds really fucking embarrassing.” Sehun drawled, “If he's as hot as you said, then sounds like you probably have zero chance now - made yourself look like a goddamn idiot.”

Chanyeol opened his mouth to defend himself but fell short, opting to turn his body away and lean against the arm of the couch.

Sehun was right, now that he thought about it, Baekhyun probably thought he was stupid as fuck.

He sighed deeply, and honestly had no idea why he was stuck on the small man at the park.

Maybe it was the boxy smile Baekhyun had for only a split second, or even just the refusal for his money. Chanyeol thought that was extremely weird - everyone liked money, anyone else would’ve snatched it up immediately. But Baekhyun had been adamant about not accepting it, and now that he reminisced, it almost seemed in a fearful way.

He didn’t necessarily think he was enamored because Baekhyun obviously needed some sort of help, the decaying state of his clothes said that much, but Chanyeol felt it was something more.

His friends always teased him for being a player, for sleeping days away with many people, but Chanyeol honestly was tired of it, and that could also be a factor.

He hadn’t been attracted to someone in so long, didn't really find many attractive after having been with many beautiful people - but Baekhyun was nothing he had ever seen - a rugged beauty.

“So, you gonna fuck him?”

Chanyeol found something deep in his chest burning hot at the nonchalance in Sehun's tone. He knew it wasn’t an odd thing to ask, hell, they talked about their sexual experiences a lot - they were men, it wasn’t odd.

But Sehun was implying his interest in Baekhyun to be a quick fuck, which Chanyeol was known to do.

There was no reason for Chanyeol to feel defensive over a mere stranger, and definitely no reason to feel like this when he had only found out Baekhyun's name - and nothing else.

But he found himself on his feet, stomping across his flat to his room and slamming the door.

Chanyeol would categorize himself as a hopeless romantic if asked, which was what he was attributing his actions now for, but that wasn’t necessarily the truth.

Well, he wasn’t sure if it was a part of the truth. But the truth was that he was tired of his lifestyle.

Tired of all the drinking, tired of being surrounded by parties and drugs.

It was a fun time when he was young, rich, and famous, but now that he was older it wasn’t as fun as he once thought.

Not when he woke up alone even when he had people in his bed the night before.

Not when his home was silent when his friends weren’t lounging around.

And not when he was nearing twenty eight and only had money to show after all these years.

Not for the first time today, Chanyeol realized his life _fucking_ sucked.

He just wanted something to fill the void.

***

Baekhyun sighed, pushing the hair off his forehead and scrubbing the corner of the wall.

The mold had started back up again, and he didn’t want to call his landlord again, not after last time so his only option was to scrub it with bleach.

Jongin had a sensitive nose, so he knew the two year old would hate it when he caught the scent, but Baekhyun didn’t have much of a choice.

He didn’t have much of a choice for anything these days.

And, he had completely fucked himself over by forgetting his cell phone at the park.

It was completely his fault for being an incompetent, idiotic person, and there was nothing he could do.

He had tried to run by after work, but of course it wasn’t there, he hadn’t expected it to be. But that also ended up with him being thirty minutes late to pick up the twins from daycare and receiving yet _again_ another warning.

Baekhyun really tried to be on time, he truthfully did, but life never went right for him, and he knew the night care staff absolutely hated him.

He didn’t blame them, he hated himself most of the time too.

“No!”

“Nini, no!”

“Mine!”

Sighing, Baekhyun turned around to take off his gloves, setting the bowl of bleach water too high for the twins to reach.

“What are you doing?”

Jongin immediately got teary eyed, scrunching his nose up and hiding under his hair, “Soo is mean!”

Baekhyun rolled his eyes and opened his arms to Jongin, “Come here, give Soo his coloring book back, _now.”_

The baby cried instantly, chin wobbling as he set the coloring book down, putting his arms up.

“That’s right, mommy knows when you’re being naughty.” Baekhyun scolded, standing straight and holding Jongin onto his hip, “Our Jongin is being so bad today, huh? Making things really hard for mommy.”

Jongin sniffed out loud, sitting back to run a tiny hand over his hair, “I tired.”

Baekhyun cooed softly, bouncing him on his side and walking in circles around the tiny room, “I know, you’re tired and grumpy you didn’t get to talk to uncle Jun today. Mommy will find a way for you to talk as soon as you can, huh, baby?”

“Mommy p’one!” Kyungsoo squealed with a giggle, “P’one gone!”

“Just like you always lose Scrump, so don’t lose him again or maybe you’ll never find him.” Baekhyun teased, watching the smaller baby gasp in outrage at the thought, immediately scrambling to find his little ratty bunny doll.

“Mommy.” Jongin whined, pressing little fingers to Baekhyun's jaw, “Sleep.”

“Okay, I’ll put you to sleep.” Baekhyun agreed, patting his bottom, “Do you need a new diaper?”

“Tell mommy.” The baby responded.

Baekhyun snorted, shaking his head and pressing a kiss to Jongin's hair, “I know, you tell mommy if you need to go potty, my babies are potty training so well, hm? Are you growing up so much?”

“Me!” Kyungsoo giggled, a pretty heart shaped smile that Baekhyun was so extremely fond of. “Mama me!”

“I know.” He laughed, kneeling on the floor to sit with Jongin at his chest, reaching out to touch Kyungsoo's cheek. “My babies are so big, so handsome.”

“At- at cawe - no big! An-and only play Nini!”

Baekhyun liked that Kyungsoo liked to talk a lot, but his speech wasn’t as clear as Jongin's, he knew the daycare told him that he probably needed some speech therapy, and Baekhyun would if he could afford it, he knew it would be helpful.

But Baekhyun could understand him, even when he got worked up. “That's okay, you can play with Jonginnie, because my babies are best friends.”

“No one play us.” Jongin murmured tiredly into Baekhyun's shirt, a pout on his lips.

Shushing him softly, Baekhyun pressed a kiss to his head and frowned, “Mommy plays with you. Mommy loves you so much, okay?”

Kyungsoo was on his little feet instantly, throwing himself down beside Jongin at Baekhyun's chest. “Lub mama.”

Baekhyun gulped, eyes watering as he softly rocked the twins, “I know, I love you. Love you so much, baby. Mommy will find you a new daycare as soon as I can.”

It sounded like an empty promise even to his own ears, but the twins were barely two years old and knew no better.

Baekhyun wanted to keep it that way.


	2. Taking Chances

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1/26/21 edited

Chanyeol was restless.

He didn’t want to go to the diner the day after because he wasn’t sure how creepy he would seem to just show up, but after two days of him mostly sulking and still not believing the shattered screen wasn’t his fault Yixing had convinced him.

So now he was standing in the short line and watching a waiter show people to their seats, but he didn’t see Baekhyun in sight.

And he was looking _very_ intently behind his sunglasses, but no sign of the little angel anywhere.

“Hello, just one?”

Chanyeol cleared his throat slightly, pulling his sunglasses to rest on his head, “Is Byun Baekhyun here? I… have something for him.”

The waiter fixed him with a judgemental look, so dark Chanyeol raised an uncomfortable brow.

“What do you want with him?”

“Uh… I have his phone.” Chanyeol muttered, “Is there a problem? I just want to make sure it gets back to him safely.”

Something about his words must have calmed the other because the man’s shoulders were relaxing and his judgemental glare was more of a confused look, “He’s not here right now.”

“Well… do you know when I can find him?”

“He only works here weekends, so in two days. He only works nights though, so just get here after five.”

Chanyeol internally groaned, impatient, “Is there anywhere else I can find him? Look, I’m sure he really needs it, _everyone_ needs their phone, it’s dangerous to be out at night without it.”

The man smiled even softer at Chanyeol and the producer only then glanced at his name tag. “Look, Minseok, I’m really worried, okay?”

“He works during the week as a receptionist at the motel down the road, but I wouldn’t recommend going by, his boss is pretty strict there.” Minseok explained, “Really, you should just wait until the weekend, he’d be way more grateful then.”

“He works… at that piece of shit motel?” Chanyeol blurted before he could stop himself before sighing and shaking his head, “I’m sorry, thank you, I’ll just come in this weekend.”

Minseok grabbed his sleeve before he could turn around and Chanyeol must have looked extremely hopeful as the waiter laughed, “You're Park Chanyeol, right? I know I’ve seen your face somewhere.”

“Yeah.”

“I'll put in a good word for you.” The waiter promised with a smile, “Baek doesn’t date, but… maybe he’ll make an exception.”

Chanyeol hadn’t got to see Baekhyun, but he still walked out of there with an almost worryingly wide smile.

***

“No, I’m sorry we’re all booked for this week, I apologize about that.” Baekhyun explained sweetly.

“You too, have a good day.” He added, hanging up the phone before turning to sort check in signatures, glancing at the clock.

He still had a good half hour before his shift was over, but he knew the daycare got out an hour earlier than usual today, so he was pushing the timing of when to pick up the twins.

Baekhyun really couldn't afford to lose his pay if he asked to leave early, not to mention having to speak to his boss, so he was typing into the phone and hoping nobody else called to ask about vacancies.

“ _Hello?_ ”

“Jun, hey, it’s Baekhyun.” He sighed in relief.

“ _Baek? Hey, I’ve been blowing you up. I haven’t heard anything in days._ ” Junmyeon scolded immediately.

Baekhyun frowned at the reminder and rested his cheek on his palm, “I’m sorry - I’ll explain later, but do you mind picking up the twins?

They get out early today, I’m going to be late - you know how many strikes I’ve gotten, and Daejoon would not let me leave without taking from my pay - I’ll pay you whatever gas money you use, I swear.”

“ _Baek_.” Junmyeon sighed, “ _It’s fine, you know I don’t mind. We told you to quit working for that fucking shitbag a month ago, little brother. You don’t deserve that._ ”

“I can’t afford it.” Baekhyun hissed under his breath, “You know that, I’m not even sure I can make another month's rent this time, he took out some last week because Kyungsoo had a stomach ache so I was a few minutes late.”

“ _That’s bullshit, I hate him, I swear to god. I told you that you and the twins should come live with us, fuck your landlord too._ ” Junmyeon growled.

“Jun..”

“ _I know, I know. Look, I’ll get the twins, don’t worry about it. I’ll make sure to get you guys some dinner too, see you at your house._ ”

Baekhyun felt his whole body relax with the relief that went through him, “You're the best, I love you so much. Thank you, thank you. Don’t buy a thing, the twins should have some leftovers from last night in the fridge.”

“ _And what about you?_ ”

Silence followed for a few seconds and Baekhyun went to respond when he heard movement in the room behind him and felt his stomach churn.

“Look, I gotta go, thank you so much, Jun.”

Before the other could respond, Baekhyun was hanging up and pretending to be sorting documents as he heard the door to his boss’s office open.

“Baekhyun.”

He gulped and felt his hands become clammy as he nodded, looking up from his desk, “Yes?”

Daejoon tossed a bunch of papers on his desk and Baekhyun sat back with a disbelieving look, “Got some applications I need you to go through and call to set up interviews.”

“Sir.” Baekhyun mumbled, “I-I get off in half hour, I’m sorry, but my kids they-“

“I don’t care, you do what I tell you or you leave, correct?”

Baekhyun didn’t want to seem like a child, but his head was hurting and his eyes were watery because he was so exhausted and he only wanted to go home. “Yes, sir.”

“That’s right.” Daejoon approved, leering as he leaned over the desk to eye him with a gaze Baekhyun was overly familiar with, “While you’re at it, I might need you to clean my desk off, you can deal with that… when you’re more aware of your position.”

“I-I'm a receptionist…”

“You’re whatever I need you for, now get on it.”

Baekhyun flinched slightly when his boss slammed his door shut, rattling what little composure Baekhyun had left.

He released a strangled, angry noise before pinching the bridge of his nose and reaching to call Junmyeon back.

_He wouldn’t be home for a few more hours._

  
***  
  


Chanyeol was near exploding, and he wasn’t sure if it was because he already had a ton of things to worry about, or if he was irritated he hadn’t gotten to find Baekhyun in days.

“Soomin, what the hell is this?” He growled, stomping to his assistants desk.

Said man raised his head with a startled look, “I… sir, it must have been a mistake, I’ll fix it immediately.”

Chanyeol had half a mind to fire the man on the spot, because this wasn’t the first time he had made a mistake, in fact the assistant made rookie mistakes often.

“Look, I really don’t want to do this, but I need to know what’s going on with you lately, this is the third time you’ve overbooked me - this week.”

“I… I’m sorry.” The man apologized profusely.

Taking a deep breath, Chanyeol sighed, “You can’t keep scheduling people at the same times, okay? I know you’re stressed out with the pregnancy, and all, but I want to know if maybe you should take leave early.”

Soomin stuttered, flustered and obviously distraught.

“Paid leave, of course. Don’t worry, I can extend it, if that’s what you want. I just want to make sure that the stress isn’t transferring over to your work. You’re a fantastic worker, Soomin, I know you are, but I can’t have you making these mistakes this often.”

“I…” Soomin relaxed slightly at Chanyeol's explanation and sighed, “I’m… having twins, so one of them is too small, it’s worrying - they told me not to stress out, but it’s impossible.”

“Oh god.” Chanyeol worried, expression contorting, “I’m going to have Yifan's assistant find a replacement immediately - don’t even worry, you’ll be paid in full. You should focus on your family. I’ll go print out the maternity leave forms now.”

“Thank you, Mr. Park.”

Soomin looked so relieved that Chanyeol had half a mind to wonder if he came off as not compassionate at all.

Of course he’d never wish for someone’s health to be at risk because of a job. Especially not unborn children.

Male pregnancies were known to be extremely hard on them, even more so twin pregnancies, so Chanyeol was worried immediately.

“Other than that, is there anything else I can do?” He added, “Given your circumstances I’m sure I can try to help more, Soomin.

Have you looked over your medical benefits? I’ll go get that for you.”

***

_“ ‘ircle!”_

“Circle.” Baekhyun tried, grabbing Kyungsoo's fingers and keeping him close, “Circle, Soo.”

“ ‘ircle.”

Baekhyun sighed, stopping to kneel down and pick up Jongin's sippy cup the baby had flung, “You know what, mommy can understand you and that’s enough, huh, baby?”

Kyungsoo giggled sweetly, grabbing onto the side of the stroller with a little jump, “Push Nini!”

“If you want to help push, stand in front of me.” He ordered, grabbing Kyungsoo's arm and standing back up, “Now, you’re going to be really good at mommy’s work later, right? I’m getting you a special treat so that you will be very good, Minseok is very nice to let you guys be there while I work.”

“Min!” Jongin squeaked, “Min Min.”

“And of course, you listen to nothing I said.” Baekhyun rolled his eyes, adjusting the duffel bag hanging on the back of the stroller.

Kyungsoo beamed, little fingers turning to grab Baekhyun's slacks, “Mama ‘andy.”

“You get one candy - that’s it.”

“Scwump too.” The baby requested, toddling over to the rack of candy.

“No. Scrump doesn’t eat - one for Nini, one for Soo, that’s all. Jongin, what kind do you want?”

Kyungsoo stomped his foot with a huge whine at that, but one look from his mommy let him know that if he threw a fit he wasn’t getting anything.

“Candy.” Jongin beamed, leaning dangerously over his seatbelt to point at what he wanted.

Baekhyun tsked, pushing his tiny face back playfully and grabbed the chocolate bar, turning to grab the bag of gummies Kyungsoo had, “Okay, Soo, _in._ Mommy needs to get to work and you guys can color for a few hours and play with toys, but you have to be very good or I won’t buy you any other candies, right? You know the rules.”

“Not good, no candy!” Jongin explained with a dramatic nod.

“That’s right, my smart boy. If you’re not good, then no candies.”

***

Chanyeol had been waiting nearly a week by the time Saturday rolled around.

And he wasn’t purposely taking forever, but by the time he had gotten all of his work sorted out and ready for Monday to roll around, it was pretty late.

He was lucky the diner closed at eight, because it was already seven fifteen by the time he had parked and found Baekhyun's phone in the center console of his car.

The diner was literally empty by the time he was there, completely opposite to the last time he had come by and he had to wait in line just to speak to Minseok.

“Hey, it’s you, I was wondering if you were going to show.”

Minseok had a knowing smirk on his face and Chanyeol was positive he knew there was no way he _wouldn’t_ show.

“Is he here?”

“Take a seat, hot stuff, I’ll go get him.” Minseok smiled.

Chanyeol suddenly felt way nervous than he needed to be simply to hand someone their phone back, walking to find a booth when he raised a brow.

The two babies he had seen nearly a week ago get scolded by Baekhyun were coloring in one of the booths, each seated on booster seats beside each other, and completely focused with a torn up little doll seated on the table, a bunny if Chanyeol _really_ had to guess what it was supposed to be.

He was half tempted to sit himself across from them solely because he wasn’t sure if anyone was watching them, but realized how absolutely creepy that was and opted to sit one booth away.

He grabbed the menu mainly to distract himself, and opted to quickly type in his order on the touch screen at the end of the table as he waited - also so he wouldn’t have to waste time when he saw Baekhyun.

And he saw him soon, looking exhausted.

Baekhyun was tired looking when he saw him, but he hadn’t been able to see much with the huge, fraying hood that had covered Baekhyun's face.

But now that he could really see with the bright lights in the empty diner, he was sure of two things.

One, he had been completely right and Baekhyun was some sort of angel, and two, he was also sick looking. His eyes were dull from exhaustion and he was pale, and his exposed arms so thin Chanyeol could probably wrap his entire hand around them.

Chanyeol suddenly wanted to throw up, because he felt so mad, and he didn’t know why or how, but he was completely desperate for Baekhyun's attention.

“Hello, I’ll be your waiter today- _oh, it’s you.”_

“I… already placed an order, don’t worry about it.” Chanyeol muttered, feeling his chest beat almost painfully when Baekhyun locked eyes on him.

“Uh… Chanyeol, right? I think I remember that.” Baekhyun said quietly, stuffing his tiny notebook into his apron.

Chanyeol probably looked stupid just staring before he nodded, clearing his throat and digging into his pocket, “Yeah, yeah, uh- you forgot this, I’ve been trying to get it back to you, but you know… schedules and what not..” He trailed off awkwardly, handing over the old phone, “I’m sorry, it’s dead, I would have charged it, but I didn’t have that kind of cord…”

Baekhyun was still, stick straight, before his eyes were suddenly watering and Chanyeol wondered if it was exhaustion that had him leaning over to place his palms on the table and ducking his head.

“Oh god, you’re a lifesaver, oh my god - I-I can’t thank you enough.”

“Hey…” Chanyeol frowned, “It’s just a phone, don’t cry, are you crying?”

Baekhyun gulped and shook his head, “Sorry, I’m sorry, thank you so much.”

Chanyeol went to assure him it was absolutely no big deal at all, but a high pitched squeal rang out and suddenly one of the two babies was running over at full speed to latch onto Baekhyun's leg.

“Soo hit!” The baby cried, small arms wrapping around Baekhyun's calf, _“Ow!”_

“Kyungsoo, no hitting!” Baekhyun turned to scold, sighing as Jongin climbed himself into Chanyeol's booth.

“I’m sorry. Jongin, come here.” He ordered.

“It’s fine.” Chanyeol smiled, scooting over, “Hi, what’s your name?”

The baby beamed, hair bouncing as he laughed, “Nini!”

“Jongin.” Baekhyun corrected with a sigh, “I’m sorry - really, I will tak-“

_“Mommy!”_

Chanyeol watched Baekhyun's head shoot up at the name and felt his heart race when Baekhyun ran over to help the other baby off the edge of the booth.

_Of course, they were his children._

He suddenly felt like a huge idiot because _of course_ Baekhyun had somebody already, and _of course_ he wouldn’t be with the two kids so much - let alone at work - if it was just simply his little brothers as Chanyeol had assumed.

He felt rejected without ever even making a move, but then again, why would the two babies be here when their other parent could watch them?

“Food, food!” Jongin laughed, watching Minseok set Chanyeol's plate on the table.

“Hey, not yours, monster.” Minseok growled, snatching little fingers off the edge and setting the plate down, sending Chanyeol a wink.

 _Also, if Baekhyun was with someone why would his coworker blatantly offer to help Chanyeol?_ He wondered.

“Hungwy.” The baby pouted, placing his cheek on the table with a whine, staring at Chanyeol.

“Hungry?” Chanyeol beamed because the toddler was adorable, even the other one was, even though he was crying and Baekhyun was trying to calm him down.

“Here - it's hot, hot!” He cried playfully, grabbing a fry.

Jongin perked up happily, bright teeth glittering as Chanyeol slid his plate closer, “Sanks!”

“God - I, I have no idea what’s gotten into them.” Baekhyun sighed, setting the second baby on the booth opposite Chanyeol and blocking the edge, “Sit on your bottom, Soo - now.”

The baby plopped down immediately, red faced and tear stains down his face as he eyed Chanyeol.

“I love kids.” Chanyeol assured, “No problems here, it’s fine, sit down.”

“I can’t. I’m working.” Baekhyun murmured, scratching at the inside of his wrist.

Chanyeol laughed, “There’s nobody here.”

Baekhyun chewed his lip and looked like he was weighing his options before sitting on the very edge of the booth with Kyungsoo, looking like he was about to start scolding again when he noticed Jongin chewing away at Chanyeol's food as if his own.

“ ‘chup, mama, k’chup!” Kyungsoo pouted.

“He wants-“

“Of course!” Chanyeol laughed, leaning over to grab the bottle of ketchup, “You know best, huh? Ketchup is way better on fries!”

Baekhyun raised a brow at that.

Usually people couldn’t make out what Kyungsoo said, much less after a fit and his words were watery and somewhat slurred from tiring himself out.

Jongin clapped with a loud laugh, mouth holding salt grains as he struggled to lean over the table.

Chanyeol threw a hand out around Jongin's side, weary of him being on the edge, but there was no way he was going to make the decision to sit the baby in his lap, not when it wasn’t his child.

“You don’t have to let them eat that, they just ate.” Baekhyun's voice was quiet now, shy.

“I wasn’t hungry, but I needed an excuse to see you.”

Chanyeol did a double take at Baekhyun once he realized how creepy he sounded and laughed it off, “I mean… not that I was… specifically _looking_ for you or… you know.”

Surprisingly, Baekhyun laughed loudly, and Chanyeol was mesmerized. “Oh, definitely not - that would be creepy.” He joked, eyes telling Chanyeol he knew what he was doing.

Chanyeol laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck and silently thanking the babies for providing him an excuse to look away and focus on grabbing napkins instead.

“I’ll get you a box - for your sandwich, the diner closes in ten minutes.” Baekhyun spoke up, voice sounding apologetic as he started getting up.

“Oh, you can have it.” Chanyeol shook his head, “I mean you look like you need it - god, I sound so creepy, I’m so sorry.”

Baekhyun again, laughed, “That obvious, huh?” He snorted again at Chanyeol apologetic look, “It’s fine, I don’t need it, you bought it, it’s your food - or.. mostly your food.” He added with a glance at the babies eating all his fries.

Chanyeol frowned because Baekhyun very much looked like he needed it, “For the kids then.” He corrected, “Please.” He fully knew the two were too little to be eating full meals like this, but if Baekhyun took it with him he would feel much better.

Baekhyun chewed on the inside of his cheek before nodding slightly, a light colored blush filling his cheeks, “I’ll be back.”

Chanyeol beamed when he realized he had won, turning to push the plate out of both of the babies reach, “Soo and Nini, huh? You two are so cute.” He cooed, grabbing a napkin to wipe off Jongin's fingers.

“Mama say too!” Kyungsoo showed a cute, heart shaped smile and Chanyeol nearly had a heart attack, he was sure that even if Baekhyun didn’t want to date him he at least wanted to be friends to make sure all three of them were happy and healthy all the time. Just so he could see the boy’s smile.

“Yeah? Your mommy says so too? He’s very right, so cute. You can call me Yeol, or Chan, whatever you want, munchkin.”

“Loel.” Jongin beamed, squirming a little before slumping down against the red booth tiredly.

 _“Fucking adorable.”_ Chanyeol cursed to himself

“Here.” Baekhyun walked over to set his receipt down before grabbing Kyungsoo under his arms, “Nini, go get your toys, time to go home, baby.”

Chanyeol sighed because he was sure he would be confident enough to ask Baekhyun out, but now he wasn’t really confident of anything, not when Baekhyun was standing right in front of him, urging both toddlers to go clean up their messes.

Which they did with little fussing, Chanyeol was vaguely impressed as he had seen children that young flop onto store floors in tantrums for things much less than having to clean up after themselves.

“Hey.. uh - I was wondering if… you know…”

“I don’t date.” Baekhyun sounded extremely apologetic, and it probably had to do with the way Chanyeol immediately dropped his shoulders, “I… I just don’t have time, I’m sorry - it’s not that.. that I don’t want to, I just don’t have any time, Chanyeol.”

It sounded like an excuse, but the way Baekhyun expressed himself didn’t look like a lie at all, so Chanyeol felt a little better, “What about… a weekday? Do you… would you have time then?”

Baekhyun looked so sorry, Chanyeol sighed.

“Mornings? Not even… we can get coffee?” He tried once more.

“I’m sorry, I… I have to get the twins to daycare by eleven, I’m so sorry.” Baekhyun whispered, tapping his fingers on the table, sliding into the other side of the booth, “Look, I have two kids, you don’t want anything to do with me - trust me, _you don’t.”_

“I don’t mind if you bring them.” Chanyeol responded hopefully, “They can come, I- I don’t mind at all. They're adorable.”

Baekhyun's eyes brightened up the smallest bit at that, shining with something Chanyeol attributed to hope, and he licked his lips almost nervously, reaching across the table to grab Chanyeol's receipt and pen.

“I don’t have much time… but… I can maybe… get breakfast or something before taking the twins, I can’t promise anything, okay? I’ll just… I’ll put my number and you can.. contact me if you’re still interested.”

Chanyeol’s smile was huge as he nodded frantically and accepted his receipt back. “I will, get home safe, Baekhyun.”

“You too.”

Chanyeol saw Baekhyun looking out the window as he walked out to his car, and he knew there was no way he wouldn't take a chance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, but who is the cutest? 
> 
> Chanyeol, Baekhyun, Nini, or Soo


	3. Kinda Mean

He didn’t take a chance.

Mainly because he got swamped with work, and he didn’t want to seem that desperate by calling the next day - even though he was very desperate.

Well, not desperate in general, but desperate for Baekhyun's attention - and to see the two tiny toddlers again.

Chanyeol had talked to his friends about it immediately after and all of them were asking a million things, and Yifan had asked how old the kids were and Chanyeol felt like a fucking idiot for not asking.

Yifan called him a dumbass when he had messaged back a measly, ‘I don’t know… one of them is like fucking small.’

Chanyeol was sulky at his dumb realization, but also wasn’t surprised as when he saw Baekhyun he couldn’t really think about much else.

But now that he had officially hired a temporary replacement, things for him had mellowed out a bit.

And now, many more days than Chanyeol wished since he had met Baekhyun at the diner, he was ready to call.

“ _Ah- Jongin stop it - Hello?_ ” 

Chanyeol wanted to laugh, but the sound of a baby crying in the background had him frowning, “Hey, it’s Chanyeol - Park Chanyeol, is it a bad time?” 

“ _Chanyeol_.” 

Something about the way Baekhyun sighed his name made him feel more confident.

“ _I wasn’t sure you were going to call_.” 

“I wasn’t sure when I should.” Chanyeol answered with a faint smile, listening to the background noise for a second, “Is… is that Kyungsoo? Is he okay?” 

“ _There’s uh -_ “ Baekhyun paused and he could hear the phone moving around and the baby’s crying calm down a little, “ _There’s construction under our apartment, Kyungsoo really hates loud noises, so he’s a little grumpy._ ” 

“Ah, understandable.” Chanyeol chewed his lip and spread out across his couch, “We can talk later, you sound busy.” 

“ _No you called at a decent time, I was… just making them dinner.”_

Chanyeol pulled his brows together and glanced at the clock hanging in the corner of the living room, it was nearly nine o clock, usually kids were asleep by now. 

His silence filled thoughts were cut off by familiar noises and quickly, Chanyeol was smiling.

“ _Mommy, Soo no want._ ” 

“ _Too bad, Kyungsoo is eating it, Jongin. Go play, I’m on the phone_.” 

“ _Who?_ ” 

“ _It’s Chanyeol, you want to say hi? Okay, hold on._ ” Baekhyun replied, voice sounding further from the phone.

Chanyeol chuckled at the slight heavy breathing into the phone, “Hi, Jongin, are you being good?” 

“ _Loel_!” The toddler screeched, and Chanyeol heard Baekhyun yell a ‘no, stay in here with the phone’ before Jongin was mumbling something much too quiet for Chanyeol to even pick up even though he prided himself in knowing baby talk.

His sister always said he was good with his niece at least. 

“- _S-Soo sayed no no and we pwayed too_!” 

“Sounds fun, Jongin, I’m sure you had a very good day then, it sounds way cooler than mine!” Chanyeol gasped dramatically and chuckled at the agreeing noise filtered through.

“ _Okay, story time over, give me_.” He heard Baekhyun demand playfully, a tone so cute Chanyeol wished he got to see the expression that matched. 

“ _I’m sure you didn’t call to hear about Jongin's story, but_ -“

“But it was adorable, and I’m happy to listen to him.” Chanyeol cut off, unsure of if Baekhyun was about to apologize, because he definitely shouldn’t have to, Jongin and Kyungsoo were cute and he was happy to know they were so sweet.

Baekhyun sucked in such a deep breath Chanyeol could hear it.

“ _Thank you._ ” Baekhyun muttered out, an unsure tone in his voice.

Chanyeol couldn't control his brow furrowing in concern and confusion, he didn’t know why Baekhyun felt the need to thank him, but it also wasn’t really his business - yet. “So, have you decided if you wanted to get breakfast with me? You and the kids, of course.” 

“ _I thought it was more your decision, but… I guess since you called…_ ” 

“Well, I decided I definitely was interested in the cute waiter with two adorable kids, so, I guess there’s not much else to discuss but when and where.” 

The laugh he was granted with sounded somewhat relieved, “ _I’m free… anytime before eleven during the weekdays… and I only work night shift on weekends_.” 

“What do you prefer? I don’t want you to feel rushed or anything…” 

“ _I… need to take the twins to daycare at eleven, and need to catch a bus to get to work so… I don’t know_ -“

“I have a car.” Chanyeol blurted, “I mean… we can meet for breakfast and I can walk them to daycare with you and then I’ll take you to work, or walk with you, there’s no problems with that.” 

Chanyeol could practically hear the cogs turning in Baekhyun's head, “ _If that’s… okay, we can meet at… there’s a cafe on 6th, it’s right by the daycare we can meet there… um… does tomorrow work? Or.. is that too soon - you can choose_.” 

“Tomorrow is perfect.” Chanyeol agreed immediately, “Tomorrow at nine? Is that okay?” 

“ _Nine is fine._ ” 

“I… okay, I’ll let you go. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Chanyeol sounded like he didn’t want to hang up, and knew he was completely whipped.

“ _Goodnight, Chanyeol_.” 

  
***

Chanyeol rarely came to this part of town.

Mainly because it was pretty rough around these parts, but if this is where Baekhyun chose, that's where he was meeting him.

That being said, Chanyeol was slightly weary about parking just because he was worried about his car getting broken into, but the thought was quickly replaced when he realized Baekhyun probably lived around here since he didn’t have a car, and the thought of him or one of the twins being hurt or anything close to that was a much more pressing thought than his new car.

At least the cafe was nice, well, most of the shops looked decent except for a few with boards over broken windows and it only made Chanyeol walk straighter with a hammering chest.

But his fears were diminished as soon as he saw what he was looking for, spotting a familiar worn down stroller resting against the wall in the corner of the cafe, Baekhyun was muttering something to Jongin and didn’t seem to even notice he had walked in.

Chanyeol was sure every time he saw them would be the best moment of his life.

“Hey.” 

Baekhyun startled so cutely Chanyeol couldn't even find it in him to tease him. 

“Loey!” Kyungsoo was trying to stand in the booth then, “Loey up! ‘I!” 

“Hi!” Chanyeol chirped just as excitedly, glancing at Baekhyun in a silent question at the baby’s request.

Baekhyun nodded, so Chanyeol was reaching out to grab the smaller of the twins and bring him to his side of the booth.

“Did you guys order yet?” 

“Uh, no, we just ate.” Baekhyun shook his head, missing Chanyeol's eyes.

Something about it was a lie, and Chanyeol wanted to know what.

“Fwoot!” Jongin smiled, pressing his teeth together innocently, “Fwoot for morning.” 

“Ah, you had fruit this morning.” Chanyeol cooed, adjusting Kyungsoo on his lap, “Are you still hungry? I’ll buy you a muffin.” 

“Chanyeol…” Baekhyun whispered softly.

“Yum yum!” Kyungsoo nodded, wrapping his arms around Chanyeol's neck, forcing himself to stay close, “Choc- it.” 

“A chocolate muffin, huh? Let’s ask if that’s okay, right? Too much candy and you’ll get sick, Kyungsoo. You have to ask.” 

Baekhyun was looking at him in almost a calculating way, and Chanyeol had half a mind to think he overstepped, but as soon as Baekhyun realized he was looking he only chewed his lip and nodded his head, “Just… not blueberry, Jongin hates them, they can share one.” 

“Okay.” Chanyeol agreed easily, “Now what do you want?” 

“I-I nothing, I’m fine - full.” 

“Baekhyun, don't worry about it, I asked you on a date - we’re going to be here all day until you choose something.” Chanyeol teased, fixing Kyungsoo's jacket around his little body.

“Mommy like nana.” Jongin commented distractedly, moving his coloring mat around.

“Banana, okay. Coffee?”

“Really strong.” Baekhyun whispered with a half smile, draping his arm over Jongin's back.

Chanyeol positively beamed, standing up and going to separate Kyungsoo from himself so he could go to the counter when the baby grunted noises of anger and latched tightly. 

“Sorry, he gets attached.” Baekhyun sighed, standing on his side, “Soo, come here.” 

“Stay!” Kyungsoo disagreed, turning to press his face into Chanyeol's throat and pretending he didn’t know he should be listening.

“It’s okay - I mean, if it’s okay with you. I’m just… gonna go order, I’ll be right there. I mean - he’s your son it’s your choice - I should just shut up, shouldn't I?” 

Baekhyun's mouth curled up before he was laughing, sitting back down and resting his chin on his palm with eyes something akin to interest, “Okay. I’ll just.. watch.” 

Chanyeol gulped at the look, and at the sudden pressure as if he was being evaluated and he nodded, holding Kyungsoo tightly onto his side and turning to go order.

Baekhyun did watch most of it, but he quickly decided there wasn’t much to be concerned with about Chanyeol. 

Well, so far. 

Who was he to really complain when he hadn’t had breakfast the past few mornings and had skipped dinner the night before? 

As long as the twins were well fed he didn’t really care all that much, didn’t really feel hungry all that often anymore.

All he really felt was stressed, so it was nice to get somewhat of a break - even if he hadn’t figured out what it was Chanyeol wanted from him. 

Junmyeon tended to tell him that not every person was out to get him, or had ulterior motives, but Baekhyun had a hard time believing it.

But he couldn’t figure out why Chanyeol had an interest in him when the man had everything he could have wanted already. Much more than Baekhyun did, at least.

Park Chanyeol was in magazines after all, big and famous.

But, then again, he didn’t really know him at all - shouldn't assume just because he was rich meant he was happy.

But Baekhyun couldn't offer him happiness anyways. 

“Mommy, bear!” 

Jongin was lifting a paper in front of his face and Baekhyun gasped playfully, “How pretty, my Nini bear, so pretty. Mommy is proud.” 

The two year old scrunched his nose up and patted his paper down on the table proudly, “Nini too!” 

Baekhyun snorted, pressing a kiss to his temple and wrapping his arm around his son, looking up at Chanyeol's footsteps.

“I know, such a big helper, sweetheart.” Chanyeol cooed, taking his seat again and letting Kyungsoo sit down, a bag in his little hands.

“Here’s that - didn’t know if you wanted sugar.” Chanyeol added, sliding the coffee in his hand across before grabbing the paper bag from Kyungsoo to pass to Baekhyun.

“This is fine, thank you.” Baekhyun murmured, pulling out a muffin and grabbing napkins to split it for the twins. 

“So… I- Uh- how old are they? And you?”

Baekhyuns glanced at him for a second before passing Kyungsoo part of the muffin, “They just turned two, and… I’m twenty four… their d-the other man isn’t in the picture, if that’s what you were wondering.” 

Chanyeol was, but he did care more about learning basic things about them, so he only smiled gently and rested his elbows on the table. “I was just wondering.” 

Baekhyun smiled softly and nodded his head, looking extremely small as he pressed into the corner of the booth with both hands holding his coffee, “You produce music, I mean I’ve seen you before… in magazines and stuff. Even before you knocked me down.” 

“Oh god.” Chanyeol groaned, “So embarrassing - I’m so sorry about that, you’re okay right? I thought I hurt you, you held your arm so I was freaking out.” 

Baekhyun looked at him strangely then, like he was odd for caring about having accidentally injured him.

Chanyeol also swore Baekhyun switched expressions at the blink of an eye. 

“Fine, just a small bruise.” Baekhyun laughed, “Way to make a scene though.” 

“In my defense - you’re small and I get tunnel visioned.” 

Baekhyun threw his head back in a rhythmic laugh and Chanyeol grinned at being the cause, “Tunnel vision while walking? Sounds like you might need to go get that checked out, Chanyeol.” 

“Running.” Chanyeol corrected just to watch Baekhyun's shoulders shake with laughter under his huge sweater. “And, who the hell just stands in the middle of the sidewalk!” 

“I just so happened to be distracted watching my kids - a much better reason than a six foot man running full speed!” Baekhyun growled playfully, pointing at him in offense.

“Six foot one!” 

“Ah, did I hurt your pride?” 

Chanyeol fake gasped, laying a hand on his chest and turning to playfully hide behind Kyungsoo's tiny, tiny shoulders, “Tell your mommy he’s being mean!” 

“Yah! You can’t do that, I can do that too,” Baekhyun's face was turning slightly pink with laughter and Chanyeol had never felt more accomplished in his life, “Jonginnie, mommy is never mean, huh?” 

Jongin poked his head up wide eyes, “Mommy sayed no jump, no lell, is mean kinda.” 

Baekhyun gawked in disbelief as Chanyeol rumbled with deep laughter across the table, “I’ve been betrayed! Chanyeol - you’re turning my kids against me, we can’t see each other!” 

“Oh god, you’re so cute.” Chanyeol laughed, catching his breath and running his hand over Kyungsoo's back gently, “Are you allowed to be this cute, Baekhyun?” 

Baekhyun's cheeks turned a pink color, and it was now Chanyeol's favorite shade.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aren’t kids always the best judge of character?


	4. Come Over

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Past Manipulation

Baekhyun hadn’t realized exactly what was happening, but he and Chanyeol were getting along so well.

Days turned into weeks, and soon it had been a few months - and Baekhyun was sure this was what being in a healthy relationship felt like even if it was less… touchy than you’d expect after months.

But Chanyeol didn’t seem to mind his nervousness at contact when they saw each other. 

They didn’t really see each other that often, usually only for short periods of time whenever Baekhyun could spare the time, but they made it work - or, they had been making it work this long.

Unfortunately, being somewhat content couldn’t last long, especially after Baekhyun had found a note on the apartment door, telling him to contact his landlord and he was already in tears before he laid the kids down for bed and shakily reached for his phone.

He really didn’t want to speak to him, but really had zero choice.

“Hello, Mr. Lee… I-I know I’m a little short this month.. Jongin had a fever so- “

The man on the other end coughed, and Baekhyun was already crying, hand coming to rest over his mouth.

“ _I_ _don’t fucking care - you know I can’t just continue letting you stay without full payments, what benefit does that give me? Huh?_ ”

“It… it was only a hundred - I can have it for you next week, swear - I swear, please.” 

Baekhyun heard a mocking laugh and only released a painful cry.

“ _Tell you what. We can make a deal - just like last time, huh, sweetheart? What do you say? I’ll sweep it under the rug, favor for a favor._ ” 

“Wha-What do you want?” He choked, eyes shut tightly.

“ _Hmm. I very much enjoyed the show last time, but I’m sick and tired of your games. You know what I’m talking about._ ” 

Baekhyun did know what he was talking about, but tried to keep that in the back of his mind every time they spoke. 

He didn’t want to have to give himself away in order to give his kids another life.

Letting a pervert harass him he could deal with, hell, he did deal with on a daily basis at the motel, but this was different.

This man had keys to his home - access to all his things, more importantly all his children’s things.

So, yes, he had made a deal one time, a small deal which involved no touching, but Baekhyun had known the man to be watching his body as he bathed - and he had to, he had to because that month Jongin had a doctors appointment and medical bills were rough, so he had nothing to give that month. 

But things were also different now, Baekhyun was dating someone - and he wasn’t a cheater, and he wasn’t horrible, not like his children’s father had been.

So his stomach only churned with disgust, and perhaps in the past he would have let it happen, pretending it never did, but he didn’t want to allow himself to be manipulated again.

Baekhyun had been an emotionless doll once, had done whatever he was told, and he didn’t want to do this, it was his body and his choice - he wasn’t about to add being manipulated for sexual means to the running list of why he couldn’t sleep.

But part of him also told him that these were his children and he needed a place for them, and he was supposed to take care of them and insure their safety.

He could only reject advances so long until he was forced to face the music, and Baekhyun had truthfully been waiting for this, knew it was going to happen one day.

So he sucked in a deep breath and spilled his guts.

“Fuck you.” 

Baekhyun didn’t give the other time to process before he was spitting viciously, “You sick pervert! Go fuck yourself! As if I’d ever fucking touch you!” 

Then he was hanging up and breathing heavy, dropping his head in his lap with a disbelieving laugh at what he had just done. 

It was only a matter of time now, until he either got a very unpleasant visit or an even more unpleasant notice, but his heart was racing too hard for him to think about anything else.

His phone was ringing, and he was afraid to look at it, but the name that popped up on the screen only made him make a sobbing noise and suck it up with a deep breath.

“ _Okay, here me out, okay? The zoo or movies? I think the movies might be too loud because I know Soo and loud noises don’t get along, but… but - Yifan said a really cute kids movie just came out, so I think-_ “

“Chanyeol.” Baekhyun laughed wetly, dropping his head down to look at his lap and pressing his palm into his forehead, “What are you doing?” 

“ _Well!_ ” The man chirped on the other end, _“_ _I’m currently staring at my cart for four tickets to the zoo - but, we can scare Kyungsoo at the movies, Jongin might like it._ ” 

“They're two.” Baekhyun sniffed, “They can’t really sit still long enough, Chanyeol.”

“ _It’s a test of willpower.”_ Chanyeol argued, making Baekhyun snort loudly.

“ _Hey… do you feel okay? You sound off._ ” The man added a few seconds later. “ _You… are you crying? Why are you crying, baby?_ ” 

Baekhyun chewed on his lip before glancing at the babies door for a second, “Do you… you want to come over? We can- I have.. some DVDs.” 

“ _Send me the address._ ” Chanyeol cooed softly, Baekhyun could heat rustling and was willing to bet he was already going down to his car, _“_ _I’ll bring snacks, okay? What do you like, beautiful?_ ” 

“Don’t worry-“

“ _You’re eating, gorgeous. I’ll just choose what I think you’d like. I’ll be there in a bit, okay?_ ”

“Chanyeol.” 

“ _Yes, cupcake?”_

“I really… I really don’t deserve you. Drive safe.” 

  
***

Chanyeol had never been to Baekhyun's home, he had offered to pick them up and drop them off on multiple occasions, but Baekhyun always gave obvious floppy excuses and Chanyeol knew better than to push where he wasn’t wanted.

Baekhyun tended to do it a lot actually.

If something Chanyeol asked was too personal, or emotional, Baekhyun usually just pretended he never heard in the first place.

He was the same about contact. 

Chanyeol hadn’t really tried to touch him or anything, not since he had tried to hold his hand on their second date and Baekhyun had looked at him like he was ready to bolt.

And Chanyeol didn’t want to scare him off, so he just backed off, knowing his touch wasn’t wanted.

That didn’t really apply to Baekhyun's side though, he seemed okay to be near him, he voluntarily would press their arms together or initiate contact when he wanted it, and Chanyeol was happy with whatever he offered.

But now he was writing his jumpiness off because of the neighborhood he lived in - it was just as bad as Chanyeol had originally expected.

The apartment building itself looked like a nightmare, and the stairs were cement, not even matted down or anything, so hard that as he walked up them he worried what could happen if the twins got out and took a tumble - how horrible it would be, and he felt so scared at his own thoughts.

Chanyeol knocked quietly because he knew it was pretty late, and adjusted the bag in his hand, scratching at his arm awkwardly as he looked at the yellowed walls of the hallway and the cracks in foundation.

Even the door was loud when Baekhyun finally opened it, a pretty smile on his face even though Chanyeol was positive he had been sobbing. “Hey, you came.” 

“Of course I did, I promised I was.” Chanyeol smiled, shaking the bag out for Baekhyun to take.

He followed Baekhyun's back as he shut the door behind him and was immediately eyeing everything.

The outside of his building suddenly looked fantastic compared to Baekhyun's apartment, if you could call it as much.

Baekhyun had tried his best, it was obvious, the way he had Christmas lights strung around the living room and photos on the walls, but the building itself couldn’t shield the conditions he was living in.

For a single person, maybe, it was big enough, and that was even pushing it. 

There wasn’t a couch, probably because it wouldn’t fit, but instead a small futon that had definitely seen better days and blankets piled all over the room.

Chanyeol already knew Baekhyun struggled with money, they had gotten into several disagreements about Chanyeol spending money on them, and now he only wanted too even more, because this was so sad - Baekhyun and the twins deserved so much better.

He knew he needed to be respectful, because this was Baekhyun's life, and this was how he lived, but it hurt to know that the people he cared for lived like this.

There were only two single doors, side by side, and one had to be the bathroom, and the other the bedroom - Chanyeol didn’t even want to see it, but he was so curious. 

“The twins sleeping? Can I check on them?” 

“It’s the right door.” Baekhyun replied distractedly, seated on the floor and messing with an old DVD player. 

Chanyeol wasn’t even sure the old television he was trying to mess with would turn on, but Baekhyun seemed like he knew what he was doing.

He slipped his shoes off to muffle his steps and walked towards the door, carefully peeking in. 

He was right, he wished he hadn’t.

It was sweet though, that no matter what Baekhyun had given them as much as he could, because their room was littered with drawings and cute stickers on the walls.

But there weren’t any dressers or wardrobes, nothing but a single toddler bed complete with soft rails and two adorable babies side by side, ignorant of the harshness of the world that Chanyeol was slowly learning about.

In the corner of the room were piles of neatly folded laundry, and Chanyeol's eyes were watering, suddenly it occurred to him - where did Baekhyun get to have space? Where did he get to sleep and have silence? 

The bags under his eyes told Chanyeol that he didn’t, but realistically there was only one option.

“Action or comedy?” Baekhyun asked, turning around to watch Chanyeol slowly shut the door.

“Whatever you feel like, beautiful.” Chanyeol whispered softly, carefully stepping over Baekhyun's legs to take a seat on the futon - Baekhyun's bed. 

Maybe it was because he had money now, but he couldn’t possibly comprehend how Baekhyun seemed so relaxed and calm when he barely had room to breathe, let alone rest.

Chanyeol’s parents had never been the richest of people, but he couldn’t recall things ever being like this for him, and now he had more money than he could dream of - and he now realized it made him blind to the horrors that others faced.

Even the sweetest of people, the most caring of people, weren’t given easy lives and he was completely biased in thinking Baekhyun was top of the list of people he thought deserved to be treated gently, spoiled.

Baekhyun opened his eyes to a lot of things. 

He had never starved, or went hungry, but it was obvious Baekhyun did, often wavering slightly and Chanyeol didn’t think he even realized it. 

At the same time Chanyeol realized that Baekhyun did what he thought was right for the twins, and if he couldn’t afford to eat he didn’t, and he knew Baekhyun couldn't afford a lot of things.

The past month he had seen Baekhyun get red in the face angry when he bought them something he had deemed expensive, while in reality it would be maybe a $30 meal to feed all of them.

Baekhyun rationalized by needs and priorities.

And Chanyeol did too, but he had a lot more options and choices than Baekhyun did, a lot more means at his disposal.

He had only just gotten Baekhyun over caring about buying food for them, but a few days ago he had mentioned buying Jongin a new jacket because he had tripped and torn a hole into it, and Baekhyun was near sobbing so he didn’t bring it up again. 

But he did see that Jongin was wearing a new jacket the next day - only Baekhyun looked pained and Chanyeol never intended to make him feel bad, but only wanted to care for them and make sure they were always safe and warm.

Money was simply an object for Chanyeol, and he knew it was limited for Baekhyun. He wanted to extend his help, offer, but there were a lot of things Baekhyun didn’t want him to know or be a part of.

And, Chanyeol was pretty sure Baekhyun didn’t believe him sometimes. Like when he said he wanted nothing in return or when he said he did it because he wanted to make sure they were okay. 

Baekhyun was hard to read.

“The boys love avengers.” Baekhyun smiled as he curled up next to him, and Chanyeol hated how easily he could make him want to pretend everything was fine and peachy, even in the saddest of conditions. 

“Everyone does, baby.” Chanyeol teased, throwing his arm over the back of the futon with a soft gaze, “Do you have to work tomorrow? You should call in, pretty, you look so tired.” 

Baekhyun shook his head and was scooting closer, resting his cheek at Chanyeol's chest and if affection was what he was allowing then Chanyeol was all over it, wrapping his arm around his shoulders, “It’s almost fall, they're closing the diner to let a painter come in to do the windows.” 

Chanyeol hummed, trailing his fingers near the nape of Baekhyun's neck, pressing a barely there kiss to his curls. “What are we doing for Halloween, my love? Jongin should be a bear, Soo can be an owl - perfect combination.” 

“Well.” Baekhyun giggled the suggestions, sitting up to rest his cheek on Chanyeol's shoulder, looking up at him, “I usually take them around the block… but last year… there was a robbery near here and I don’t really… I don’t think it’s worth it, maybe I’ll just make them something and we can paint or...” 

When Baekhyun trailed off, Chanyeol sighed, pressing his forehead down softly onto Baekhyun's, “We can take them in my neighborhood, if you want, and you guys can stay the night. If not then I’ll bring them a bunch of candy and scare them - same as going outside.” 

“You’d want us to stay the night?” Baekhyun asked quietly, tangling his fingers into Chanyeol's shirt. 

“Of course, I wouldn’t want you guys anywhere else but where I know you’re safe.” Chanyeol explained, “If you're right there, I think I’ll sleep fantastically, an-“

Baekhyun was cutting him off by leaning up and connecting their lips, brushing his softly over Chanyeol's.

They’d never kissed before, and Chanyeol was sure it was perfect because he had been waiting so long. 

His hand came to cup the side of Baekhyun's face and separate his lips more, pressing together firmly, but cautiously. 

He hoped Baekhyun would be able to hear what he was trying to convey. To trust him, and that he loved him. So much.

Because he did, Chanyeol was completely lost the moment he had knocked Baekhyun to the ground, ironic that they had both fallen in a way.

“Mommy.” 

Chanyeol sighed against Baekhyun's mouth, but he was always happy to see the twins, even if he rarely got alone time with Baekhyun - only on the short drives from the daycare to drop him off at the motel and their phone calls.

“Yes, baby, come here.” Baekhyun cooed, not moving away from Chanyeol at all as he turned his head slightly, Chanyeol's lips brushing over his cheek instead, and he leaned into it more. 

Chanyeol smiled happily at Jongin, the toddler standing in Spider-Man pajamas and a swollen face. 

But Jongin suddenly looked shy, shuffling awkwardly. “Mommy, I potty.” 

“Oh.” Baekhyun pulled away quickly to rush the short distance, “You had an accident?” 

Jongin looked at Chanyeol and got teary eyes, grabbing Baekhyun's arm and hiding shyly.

“Okay - come on, I’ll be right back, Chanyeol.”

Chanyeol only grinned reassuringly and nodded, turning back to look at the television even though he hadn’t been paying any attention at all.

Honestly, Chanyeol to some degree wished there was more he could do to help Baekhyun with the kids too - other than buying them things which he also wanted and tended to do.

But that was a big step, and it was something he thought Baekhyun should bring up first, because if he brought it up he felt it would seem pushy or needy.

But Chanyeol was almost thirty years old, and had only now started thinking about the future, since meeting Baekhyun.

And in all of his thoughts there wasn’t a second he didn’t see Kyungsoo's heart shaped smile and Jongin's scrunched nose grin. It wasn’t even fathomable.

“- just because it’s the weekend, okay? Just this once.” 

Chanyeol smiled as Jongin trailed out behind Baekhyun, rubbing his small hands together uncomfortably and looking so embarrassed.

“Hey, Nini, are you coming to watch the movie?” Chanyeol smiled gently, putting his arms out when the toddler was close enough. 

“Mommy… sayed one time.” Jongin mumbled, pulling on the leg of his new plaid pajamas. 

“Oh, yes, because big boys need to sleep lots to grow, huh?” Chanyeol cooed, picking up the toddler to sit on his thigh sideways, and beaming when Baekhyun made himself comfortable at his side. “And you know, it’s okay to have accidents, you went and told mommy really fast so that makes you a big boy for being so smart.” 

Jongin cheered up a bit at that, “School no diapers, too big.” 

Chanyeol prided himself in understanding the baby’s almost all the time, but he didn’t understand what Jongin was talking about.

“I know, baby, our babies are getting potty trained but it takes a while.” Baekhyun chirped, resting his hand on Chanyeol's chest and letting Jongin wrap his fingers around his. “The daycare says once a child turns three they have to be potty trained, the boys aren’t even two and a half yet, but they… are pushing it really hard. It’s literally their jobs, and I’m paying them a whole lot so I expect them to at least take care of my kids.”

Chanyeol frowned because he had never heard Baekhyun sound so worked up.

“That’s ridiculous, every child is different, they can’t just force them.” Chanyeol agreed, rubbing Jongin's stomach when the toddler went limp on his chest.

Baekhyun sat up with a proud grin, pressing a quick kiss to his mouth, “I knew you’d agree.” 

Chanyeol was suddenly willing to agree with Baekhyun over anything.


	5. Meet & Melt

“Hey, Yeol, are you busy tomorrow or not?” Sehun called across his office.

Chanyeol rolled his eyes, turning to look at his group of friends that had invaded his office fully knowing that Yifan was the only one that actually worked there. “We’re taking the kids to the park tomorrow.” 

Jongdae groaned and Chanyeol knew what was coming. “Dude you sound like you’re married! You haven’t even let us meet the babe yet and all we hear is Baekhyun this, the twins that! Dude, you don’t even want to party anymore, boring!” 

“Okay, first of all.” Chanyeol growled, laying his folder on the table and clenching his jaw, “Do not refer to him as a babe, secondly, I never liked partying anyways - neither do you guys, you just like drinking, and third, you never asked to meet them.” 

“Isn’t it obvious that we wanted to meet them?” Yixing huffed like he was stupid, “We only mention them like every single day!” 

“You send me texts telling me to get my dick wet - which is not what we’re doing, by the way.” 

“Yeah, yeah, Chanyeol settling down and what not - the point is that I want to meet the little shits and I want to now!” Sehun whined, oddly similar to Kyungsoo's incoherent rambling when he was really pissed.

“Fine.” Chanyeol rolled his eyes, “You're literally brattier than both of the two year olds, just so you know. And I’ll ask Baekhyun if he has plans soon and let you guys know, he’s very busy though, so don’t get your hopes up.” 

“You adopted two kids and we don’t even get to meet them, unbelievable.” Yifan added with a stern look.

Chanyeol groaned in annoyance, “God, you guys are fucking ridiculous. Fine - I’ll see what I can do, now get the fuck out or I won’t even bother asking.” 

  
***

“Are they going to be here?” Baekhyun asked softly, watching Chanyeol push the stroller and wrapping his hand around the metal like he forced the kids to do when they were out of the stroller.

“Well, I told them that we were only staying an hour and that we had to get you to work - so, maybe.” 

Baekhyun nodded, licking his lip nervously and wrapping his arm around Chanyeol's.

Chanyeol was parking the stroller beside a bench and turning to cup his face, gently pressing their lips together for a soft kiss. “Don’t worry, they’ll love you, and their opinions don’t mean a thing.” He joked.

Baekhyun laughed under his breath, leaning up for another quick kiss before kneeling to unbuckle the twins, “They’re your friends, of course their opinions matter. I’m sure it’s bad enough I already have two kids.” 

“What?” Chanyeol frowned, shaking his head frantically. “We don’t care about that at all, I love the twins, you know that.” 

Baekhyun chewed the inside of his lip, “I know.” 

And then he was sitting back to get the twins on their feet, fixing their clothes nervously, “We’re meeting some people, and then you can go play for a little bit, okay? It’s cold though, so be very careful and if it’s slippery don’t touch.” 

“We learned that the hard way.” Chanyeol teased, reaching out to pull Kyungsoo in his lap, “Right, peanut? We don’t go on slippery things or we fall and get hurt.” 

“Ow.” Kyungsoo nodded with a cute pout, huffing and leaning on Chanyeol's jacket.

“That’s right, my love.” Baekhyun cooed, fixing Jongin's hat on his head. “And if we keep getting owies then we have to go to the doctors. I know you don’t like it, and mommy doesn’t either.” 

Kyungsoo crossed his arms then, looking angry at the reminder, but nodded again anyways.

“Well look here, Chanyeol, you dog.” 

Chanyeol knew this was a horrible idea. “There’s children watch your mouth, okay?” 

Sehun rolled his eyes, shoving a black grocery bag at Jongdae beside him and rushing over, “Yixing and Yifan can’t make it, they said to send pictures - but I see you’ve been too busy with another sight. 

Hi, cutie - Oh Sehun, you ever need anything or get tired of-“

“Sehun, you hit on him again I’ll do things I’d rather not do in front of a pair of two year olds.” Chanyeol snarled under his breath.

Baekhyun's face looked relatively amused as he picked Jongin up onto his hip, “I don’t think I’ll be getting tired of Chanyeol anytime soon, sorry to break the news to you.” 

Sehun grabbed his chest playfully and Chanyeol relaxed once Baekhyun was seated at his side. 

“Kim Jongdae,” Jongdae smiled and put his hand out, “I won’t hit on you because I’m not an animal, but you are very pretty, Chanyeol doesn’t stop talking about you and the kids.” 

Chanyeol had to duck his head at being called out when Baekhyun turned to look at him with something akin to shock, he shouldn’t be shocked when Chanyeol was so obvious about loving them.

“Anyways, I brought food - don’t know if you ate already, but we just picked up some extras for you and the kids. Welcome to the family gifts, now can I hold one of them?” 

Chanyeol sent his two friends a small glare at their obviousness. 

Of course he hadn’t told them about Baekhyun's situation, but he had expressed that he was worried for his health.

He couldn’t actually be mad though, not when it was obviously their way of saying we accept and support you, which is pretty surprising considering they had been pretty weary originally about Chanyeol getting involved with someone who had someone else’s children.

Baekhyun didn’t mention the other man, not once had Chanyeol heard a peep about him, and he had never heard anything similar to a dad or daddy - anything that could lead him to think about the other person that had created such good kids.

It was reassuring that Baekhyun didn’t have to share the kids with him, but at the same time Chanyeol wanted to meet the guy just to “talk” some sense into him about not caring for his family.

But it wasn’t his business, even though he really, really wanted it to be.

“S’wipes!” Kyungsoo was pointing up at Sehun and the man flustered, looking confused.

“What? What’d he say?” 

“Stripes - he likes your shirt. Soo, say hi to Sehun - you guys can be friends.” Chanyeol cooed, watching Kyungsoo get excited and nod, “Yes, sweet boy, you can go say hi.” He added, pressing a quick kiss to the baby’s cheek and setting him down.

“He has a speech delay, if you can’t understand him you can just ask.” Baekhyun added.

Chanyeol frowned, he didn’t really feel it was important to point it out, but at the same time he was so used to Kyungsoo he didn’t really have issues understanding what he was trying to say anyways - he never really did. 

But it was obvious that a lot of people couldn’t understand, which was sad because Chanyeol felt if you paid enough attention it wasn’t that hard to figure out.

“Swing me!” Jongin laughed, tugging Jongdae’s pant leg. 

Jongdae turned to look at Baekhyun for approval, eyes begging and Chanyeol snorted because they teased him for being whipped for the family, but they already looked attached to the twins.

“We have an hour.” Baekhyun approved, reaching for the bag at his feet.

Jongdae and Sehun were taking off towards the playground immediately, and Chanyeol saw Sehun taking his phone out and knew he would be getting some good pictures of the twins.

Chanyeol watched the twins for a second before turning to look down at Baekhyun, throwing his arm around his shoulders tightly, “What’d they bring you, beautiful?” 

Baekhyun hummed, digging, “Just… it looks like a few takeout meals, I’ll eat one for lunch.” 

“Good.” Chanyeol smiled, pressing a kiss to his cheek, “I wish you’d let me take better care of you, sweetheart.” 

“You don’t understand, Yeol. We’ve been over this.” Baekhyun sighed, turning to press his cold, pink nose into Chanyeol's jacket collar. 

Sighing, Chanyeol only hugged him close and combed his hair softly, “I know, but you know that if you ever needed something you call me and I’ll get it for you and the babies, yes? You know that.” 

“I… know.” 

And again, Chanyeol thought it sounded like a lie.

“Why’d you point out Soo’s talking?” Chanyeol wondered, switching the subject before he upset the other.

Baekhyun twisted his mouth in thought before pulling away to look at Chanyeol, resting his leg over Chanyeol's knee, “I’m tired of hearing people ask - the daycare already scolds about it all the time, saying it’s hard to understand what he wants, and I understand that, but I can’t.. you know.” 

“I know.” Chanyeol soothed, pressing a kiss to his forehead, “But I can, so… when you’re ready, we’ll get him someone and then from there we figure it out, right? We’ll figure it out together, babe.” 

Baekhyun furrowed his brows in thought and Chanyeol wished he could read his mind, because he knew his words were implying something and he had fully meant to do it, but Baekhyun always took so long to analyze him that it was intimidating.

“I have a brother…” Baekhyun murmured suddenly, “You’d like him a lot, he’s actually married to Minseok - anyways, he’s supposed to pick up the twins for me on fridays because… you know, they get out early, but… if-if I put you on the emergency contacts, would you pick them up? I mean… not all the time, but whenever you can spare it, because I know you choose your schedule. They just… really love you so much, and I think it'd be-“

“Of course.” Chanyeol's smile was bright, “Of course, Baekhyun. I love them, of course I’ll pick them up. We’ll go pick you up too, by the time I get them and turn around to get you, you’ll be out.” 

Chanyeol didn’t know what kind of testing Baekhyun was doing, but the glimmer of hope in his eye led him to believe he had passed. 

  
***

“No, I told you he’s safe, Jun.” Baekhyun laughed softly, leaning over to snatch the DVD remote from Jongin's hands. “I really… I really like him, Minseok did too.” 

“ _But do you trust him?_ ” 

“More than any other man I’ve been with. Trust me, Junmyeon. I think… he’s really good for the twins, and we don’t even… we don’t even fight, he doesn’t really get angry, or at least I’ve never seen it. I have high hopes, okay?” 

Junmyeon sighed so deeply Baekhyun knew he was about to get scolded, “ _I trust you, Baekhyun, but I also worry about you. You know… after everything I can’t just give him the benefit of a doubt so easily - it’s only been months you’ve been with him, how can you be so sure? You were also sure about Youngmin an entire year befo-_ “

“You know.” Baekhyun clenched his jaw, “You don’t need to constantly throw that at me, I’m aware of what I did, okay? I’m an adult and I’ll do what I think is right for myself and my kids, Junmyeon.” 

“ _Baekhyun_ _, it’s not what you did, it’s what he did, okay? You did the right thing and you always have, but I think I have a right to be worried for my little brother, do I not?_

 _I’m proud of you, you know I am. You’ve been through hell and back, and still raise two kids and juggle everything else - but… people aren’t always what they seem, and I still… I still feel guilty for not knowing he was hurting you for months until you had already left. Okay? That’s the truth, I feel horrible and I can’t forgive myself for not helping you._ ” 

All at once, Baekhyun felt lighter as he adjusted his phone on his ear, “It wasn’t your fault, it wasn’t anyone’s fault - I never told anyone, but… you know… I was scared because of the pregnancy and I-I didn’t want to lose them.” 

Baekhyun heard the phone being moved around and heard a familiar tsk and could imagine the scowl in Minseok's face. “ _Hey, I stole the phone because some of us have a little more compassion than others.”_

 _“Hey_!” He heard Junmyeon cry in the background.

“ _Anyways,_ ” Minseok mused, “ _Don't listen to him, sweetie, I vouched for Chanyeol. I think he’s really good for you and the twins. He came to look for you, did you know?_

 _Months ago he waited in a twenty minute queue just to ask for you and then begged to know when you’d be in, I think if that doesn’t show devotion I don’t know what does - Jun has literally left me alone in grocery store lines because he’s so impatient.”_

_“That is a completely unfair comment, I despise that.”_ Junmyeon whined. 

Baekhyun snorted at the couple, shaking his head slightly, “I gotta go, I have to give the babies baths.” 

_“Liar, you just want to call your boy toy.”_ Minseok called out, hanging up before Baekhyun could really defend himself. 

But, he was right, it was because he wanted to speak to Chanyeol.

They usually spoke on days they couldn’t meet with a few exceptions such as when a baby is too fussy or when one of them was already asleep, but it was a routine at this point. 

“Mama, Loey.” Kyungsoo tugged on the shoulder of his shirt, tilting his head, confused. 

Baekhyun laughed. Apparently, the babies even knew it was time to talk to Chanyeol. 

“I know, you love Yeol so much, hm?” Baekhyun cooed, patting Kyungsoo's bottom before pulling him into his lap, “Almost more than mommy, huh? You love Chanyeol so much.” 

Jongin pursed his lips when he realized Kyungsoo was getting all the attention, running over to throw himself down onto Baekhyun's other side with a huff, eyes locking on the television.

“You know, you guys are getting too big. Mommy might not be able to hold you both much longer.”

It was a lie, they two were still tiny, especially Kyungsoo, but still so much bigger than Baekhyun recalled, and the thought was somewhat painful.

“Pone?” Kyungsoo asked, putting his palm up to his ear as he tried to explain.

“I’m calling, I’m calling! So bossy!” Baekhyun growled, playfully chewing at his cheek. 

_“Hello, hello, gorgeous. I was waiting for what felt like forever! So tell me, my darling, what’d you do today?”_

Baekhyun wasn’t sure if it was love, but if it was, he had never felt anything like it.


	6. Blowing Up

“No, I told you, Chanyeol is picking them up, thank you though. I already gave you his number just in case, get off my ass.” Baekhyun growled, tapping fingers on his desk.

“ _Okay, we were just wondering. Double checking._ ” Junmyeon replied, “ _I’ll let you go. Be safe, Baek_.” 

Baekhyun frowned at the last part, he knew Junmyeon simply wasn’t trusting of Chanyeol because he simply hadn’t met him yet, even Minseok attributed his actions to it.

But, he still, to some degree, was annoyed Junmyeon couldn't just take his word for it.

It just reminded Baekhyun that he had made too many mistakes in the past, and trusted the wrong person. 

He was still making mistakes though, in life, at work - not at the diner, he didn’t mind working there because usually it was just him and Minseok who was a keyed manager so the two of them could do as they liked.

But he hated the motel.

It wasn’t so bad at first, it was just leering and lustful looks, Baekhyun wasn’t blind and many people looked at him like that, but he felt that his boss was pushing the line too far now.

Recently, he had been calling him into his office a lot, watching him clean things he was ordered to do, just watching, making comments Baekhyun wasn’t a hundred percent how to take. 

Frankly, it was disgusting, but Baekhyun didn’t have a choice but to pretend to be ignorant. 

As long as it didn’t escalate then Baekhyun could deal with it, but the moment things became too much he knew he was going to be a sobbing, screaming wreck, and his job would be gone.

But there was no way he would put up with bullshit anymore, not when he kind of had other options.

Options he really didn’t want to involve, because in Baekhyun's eyes he still very much needed this job to be a functioning adult, but at this point he was just so tired of being screwed over. 

Exhausted by working so long without help, and just overall pissed off at the universe in general. 

All he wanted was to be a good parent and escape, but life never really liked him… hopefully, life decided to flip when he met Chanyeol, because the producer was really the only thing that kept him from giving into easier options - for everything.

With his home hanging over his head, still unsure what was happening as he hadn’t received an eviction notice, and with his job being threatened by his bosses advances, Baekhyun was really fucked if fate didn’t cut him a break.

***

“What’s up, make it quick. I’m going to pick up the twins.” Chanyeol ordered through the Bluetooth of his car. 

“ _Hey, this is Junmyeon, Baekhyun's brother._ ” 

Chanyeol flushed immediately, feeling like an idiot for sounding so rude when he hadn’t even looked at the unknown caller ID. “Oh my god, yes, of course - Baekhyun's spoken of you before. I’m so sorry.” 

Now he knew how Baekhyun felt meeting his friends, but of course his boyfriend hadn’t kind of told someone so important to fuck off the first second he opened his mouth. 

Surprisingly, the man laughed, “ _Don't worry about it, I just wanted to give you a call really quick, you know, big brother speech and all - I heard you were getting pretty serious… so, should I threaten you first, or do you want to skip to where you beg for my approval?_ ” 

Chanyeol was laughing deeply then, immediately figuring they were going to get along great. “Let’s hear a bit of yours, and I’ll give you a bit of mine - you know, share the weight.” 

“ _You know, I really want to hate you, so stop talking because you’re making this really hard._ ” Junmyeon chuckled and Chanyeol beamed, tapping his finger as he got stuck at a red light. 

“ _All seriousness though. I’m sure… you can tell Baekhyun's been through some shit, I don’t know how much he’s told you, or anything. But if you ever - and I mean ever lay a hand on him I’ll fuck you up, man. I don’t give a fuck that you’re apparently fucking huge, you ever touch him, or the twins, in a way you know isn’t right - I swear to god._ ” 

Chanyeol was furrowing his brows quickly, not at the threat, it was expected, but the oddly specific way it was phrased. 

Usually, you’d expect a ‘don't break his heart speech’, but Junmyeon had gone straight for a ‘don't lay a hand on him’. 

As if Chanyeol ever would anyways, but it was immediately drawing red flags in his head. 

“Junmyeon. I don’t know what ideas you have, but.. fuck, I would never touch any of them, you don’t have to take my word for it. But just to assure you, because I would sooner lose my entire company than lay a hand on any of them, I’ll tell you that if I ever even make Baekhyun cry I’ll rat myself out and let you beat the fuck out of me.” 

“ _I’ll hold you to that, man. I really will._ ” 

“Please do, I’m not kidding. I love him, and I’d never intentionally hurt any of their feelings, let alone touch them aggressively.”

Junmyeon went pretty quiet then, for a good few nerve racking minutes Chanyeol just tapped his fingers nervously.

“ _You know… you can’t be with Baekhyun not expecting to be… something to his kids, right? Last I saw them they just kept talking about you, so I hope you know what you’re doing - because if you’re not ready…. that counts as hurting them._ ” 

“I loved the twins even before I was positive I was in love with Baekhyun. We haven’t… discussed much about the twins, Baekhyun… doesn’t like to really talk about it, but I’m ready - 100% ready. Whatever Baekhyun allows, I'll accept wholeheartedly.” 

Junmyeon made a noise Chanyeol couldn't interpret, but he was sure it was good, maybe an impressed noise. “ _Good. Baekhyun is a little hard to understand, but you will get it… when he tells you. So just… just treat them right, okay, Chanyeol?_ ”

“Of course.” Chanyeol relaxed, “I need to go inside to pick up the twins, but… maybe Baekhyun would want us to meet, soon.” 

“ _Definitely. I’ll see about setting a time, have a good night._ ”

Chanyeol sighed in relief and dropped his forehead on the steering wheel for a second internally cursing for starting off sounding like a complete asshole.

But Junmyeon seemed to turn around rather quick, so at least he had that going for him.

He didn’t have time to really get his hopes too high though, moving to get out of the car and walk to the daycare.

For a second he realized Baekhyun was going to be pissed he had bought the twins car seats, knowing Baekhyun had told him Junmyeon had some they could use, but Chanyeol wanted their own, so he and Baekhyun didn’t have to take them back and forth. 

“Hello, you can sign in here, what’s your name?” The woman at the front desk asked, tone extremely sweet and it probably had something to do with the heart eyes she was sending him.

Too bad for her, because Chanyeol was very much in love. 

“Park Chanyeol. Do I just go in?” He asked politely.

She nodded with a huge smile, “Yes! I’ll run your name, so go right in, let me know if you need any help.”

Chanyeol smiled nicely and quickly made an uncomfortable exit into the play room. 

The only two left were his favorite little ones, and Chanyeol was smiling huge immediately, watching the moment Jongin's eyes caught his and the toddler was standing up with an excited hop and patting his brother's hair.

“Hey, munchkins. I’m picking you up today, huh? And you get to go on a car ride!” Chanyeol cooed, lifting Jongin over the baby gate, “Go find your shoes, please.” He added.

“Car ride!” Jongin squealed, dropping on his butt on the floor and pulling two pairs of shoes to his leg, trying to shove his on.

Chanyeol laughed, not caring as he opened the gate and put arms out, “Come on, Soo. Let’s go home and see mommy.” 

Kyungsoo wasn’t crying, but it took him a good few seconds to stand up and he wasn’t smiling - Kyungsoo always smiled when they saw each other, even when he got in trouble he was all excited screams and a heart smile when Chanyeol walked in. 

Chanyeol frowned and sat down on the floor, placing Kyungsoo on his thigh and grabbing his shoes, “Hey, baby, what’s wrong? Are you having a bad day?” 

He didn’t even get much of an acknowledgement other than a teary glance and Kyungsoo pointing at his shoes.

“I know, little owl, your shoes light up. What’s wrong?” Chanyeol asked again, laying the Velcro down tightly, “My sweet boy, what’s wrong?” 

“Leol.” Jongin stood by his side and Chanyeol was immediately reaching out to hold his hand, “Yes, Nini?” 

“T-the…” Jongin was suddenly crossing his arms and looking extremely mad, nothing like Chanyeol had seen in all these months together, “teacher sayed to Soo - no talk, an-n… anno- sayed mean thing! Soo cry.” 

He punctuated it with a head nod and a frowny face full force.

“What?” Chanyeol felt red hot anger pour over his skin as he stood up, “Nini, watch Soo, i'll be right back, okay?” 

Jongin nodded with a firm frown, reaching over to pat Kyungsoo's head in a way that seemed condescending, but was meant to be sweet. 

Chanyeol ran his tongue over his cheek in pure anger as he approached the desk, completely overlooking the woman’s flirtatious grin. “I want to see a manager - or, better yet, get me the owner. Now.” 

The woman flustered quickly at the deep anger, “I… I’m a manager, the owner… isn’t on site.” 

“Give me fucking contact information now, I’m under the impression that the staff here has been mistreating these twins- probably for a long time - so, get me a number, and I want a name, right fucking now. Unless you want to take responsibility for it? Do you?” 

The woman shook her head quickly and Chanyeol clicked his tongue, annoyed at her shaking hands as she scribbled.

“You can be angry about something, and that’s fucking dandy - but for one of the staff here to take it out on a child, this place is getting fucking shut down, this is emotional abuse on a fucking two year old.” Chanyeol growled, snatching the paper from her hand.

“I’ll find out which one of you it was that fucking called a child with a speech issue annoying, clearly someone disturbed, and if I find out any other shit was going down… this won’t just be a business issue, I’ll involve the police.” 

Chanyeol couldn't give a flying fuck as the woman cried as he spun on his heal and made his way over to the twins, picking Kyungsoo up on his hip and reaching down for Jongin's hand.

He was still livid, pissed beyond belief, but he couldn’t let it show, and if he felt this mad he couldn’t even imagine how pissed off Baekhyun was going to be.

All he could do was breath heavily and open the back door.

“Okay, you can choose your color. Soo, you want to choose first?” Chanyeol soothed, “Nini won’t mind, huh?” He added, getting a firm nod from Jongin, “That’s right, a good brother. See, you can choose, which one?” He asked.

Kyungsoo pouted his lips and pointed to the red colored car seat closest to the side Chanyeol had opened and Chanyeol frowned again, pressing a kiss to his head, “Yeah? What color is this? I want to hear you say it, baby.” He cooed, lifting him to buckle him in and keeping a close eye on Jongin standing outside the door and waiting his turn. 

“... ‘ts wed.” Kyungsoo whispered quietly.

“That’s right, smart boy.” Chanyeol grinned, pressing a kiss to his cheek, “So smart, so proud of you, I love you so much, and mommy loves you so much, and Nini loves you so much, okay? We don’t listen to mean people, yes?” 

“ ‘Kay.” 

“Okay, lets get Nini in and then go get mommy. Da- I mean, I’ll buy you both something for dinner for being so good.” Chanyeol cooed, debating on how to buckle Jongin in because he really didn’t want to take him near the street even if it was mostly empty, and instead opting to just lift him over and awkwardly crouch. 

Baekhyun was probably way less paranoid and better at this, but for the first time, Chanyeol didn’t think he was doing half bad.

“Uh- Uh!” Jongin cried when Chanyeol went to pull away, “Kish too!” 

“Of course, lots of kisses because you’re so good, such good boys, yeah?” Chanyeol smiled, pressing a few kisses to Jongin's cheek, “Now let’s go get mommy.” 

“Mommy.” Kyungsoo parroted, fingers tugging on his seatbelt.

  
***

The boys had mostly cheered up by the time Chanyeol had pulled up to Baekhyun's work, glaring angrily at the ugly brown motel, feeling glad he had changed the setting on the car to automatically lock when all doors were shut, because this place looked so sketchy it sent chills down his spine. 

They didn’t have to wait long, and the babies looked very invested in the music Chanyeol had put on for them, just some pop music, and it had him half wondering if he could figure out how to work the built in DVD player in the back - Yixing had wanted him to figure it out for the longest time, but he never had any interest until now.

Unlocking the door as soon as he saw Baekhyun, he gulped, trying to figure out how to talk about what happened.

“Hello, baby.” Chanyeol soothed smoothly, waiting for Baekhyun to buckle up before leaning over the center console to press a kiss to his mouth.

Baekhyun sighed against his lips as if he absolutely needed it, and Chanyeol felt worse knowing he had to stress him out more.

“So.” Chanyeol murmured, pulling out of the parking lot, “It’s a little late, I think… we should pick up some food and then go home.” 

Baekhyun must have been really tired, because he didn’t even point out that it was barely pushing six, and only nodded and wrapped his hand around Chanyeol's on the center console. “I feel… like a burger.” 

Chanyeol beamed, pulling his hand to his mouth to press a kiss onto his knuckles, “A burger it is, beautiful.” 

Baekhyun hummed, turning to peek over the backseat and Chanyeol heard his sigh, knowing it was about the car seats, but Baekhyun only squeezed his hand, so it seemed like a good sign.

“Mama!” 

Chanyeol snorted, wondering when it was the twins would make themselves known.

“Mommy, hi!” 

“Hi, babies.” Baekhyun chirped as if he wasn’t nearly dozing off, leaning over to see them, “Are we going to eat? Are you hungry?” 

Kyungsoo made his familiar excited squeal and Chanyeol felt so much better, “Mama, fwy?” 

“Yes, you can have some fries, pumpkin.” 

Chanyeol laughed as he looked in the mirror and noticed Jongin going back to bobbing his head, looking out the window uninterestedly.

He nearly called out the two year old for being so cute, but only smiled, pulling up to a drive through to get in line. 

“Hey, Chanyeol.” 

Baekhyun leaned over the console and looked at the menu, but he was so close Chanyeol couldn't help pressing a kiss to his temple. “Yes, my love?” 

Baekhyun smiled sweetly, “Can we… nevermind, we don’t have any supplies.” 

“No - go ahead, what’s up?” Chanyeol urged, brushing the hair back from his face.

“I just… can we go to your house… I don’t want to be alone, I told Minseok I didn’t want to go in tomorrow and I just… want to have a family day.” 

“The twins still have some nighttime pull-ups in their backpack.” Chanyeol began with a growing smile. “If need be, I’ll pick some more up tomorrow, yeah?” 

“Yes.”   
  


***

Baekhyun knew Chanyeol was rich, and it had intimidated him the way that he threw his money around, but his flat was way prettier than he expected.

The entranceway almost seemed the exact square feet of his apartment, and Baekhyun wasn’t even sure if that was him exaggerating or not, it was huge.

“The guest room is just down the hall, I’ll go put the twins stuff down and grab you some pajamas, okay?” Chanyeol asked, setting their food on the coffee table. 

Baekhyun nodded in awe, patting Kyungsoo's hair as the baby latched to him. He heard Chanyeol mutter that he was cute, before Kyungsoo's adamant tugging on his pajamas was pulling him out of it, nervously kicking off his shoes by the door and walking on the tan carpet into the living room.

It looked like it was straight out of a catalog, other than obviously being lived in. 

“Hungwy!” Jongin whined, trying to reach over the edge of the coffee table for the bags.

Baekhyun hissed when he saw one of the two sodas tilt at his action, running over to firmly snatch Jongin's hands back before pulling things out. “Listen, you don’t make a mess in Chanyeol's house, okay? We’re going to be very nice and stay very clean. Deal?” 

Of course the twins nodded without understanding a thing, only waiting for Baekhyun to take their food out and distribute it - which he did with a sigh, fully knowing they weren’t understanding anything.

“Sit still on the floor, don’t go on the couch until I’ve cleaned your hands, okay?” Baekhyun ordered, sitting down to pull off the twins shoes and jackets. 

“ ‘Kay, mama.” 

“Okay, you can eat now and no messes.” Baekhyun repeated, pressing a kiss to Kyungsoo's hair.

Chanyeol’s footsteps were always loud, probably because he was so huge, but Baekhyun felt like he was so used to them at this point that it was comforting. “Okay, so, none of my stuff will fit you - so, I found you a shirt and some shorts.. I hope that’s good enough.” 

Baekhyun nodded with a thankful smile, standing up to accept them, “That’s fine, the twins will probably go to sleep right after eating, and they’re already comfortably dressed so I think they’ll be okay.” 

Nodding in agreement, Chanyeol hopped onto the couch and leaned forward to grab the remote, glancing at Baekhyun once more, confused. “You can eat up here.” 

“It’s okay… I’m… supervising down here.” 

Chanyeol snorted, “You can supervise up here, twins can eat up here too - they’re not going to hurt anything with a little food. Yifan once spilt alcohol all over and there’s no sign.” 

Baekhyun wanted to point out that the couch looked like it cost more than his entire month's rent, but he was tempted, so he shyly smiled and climbed up with his package of fries. 

“My house is your house, you guys can do whatever you want.” Chanyeol added, throwing his arm over the back and pressing a fleeting kiss to Baekhyun's hair.

“And now - cartoons!” He added childishly making Baekhyun laugh aloud when Jongin hummed an agreeing noise on his chicken nugget. 

“God, you’re worse than them.” He teased, smacking Chanyeol's side playfully. 

“Okay, the beauty of cartoons though - I dare you to disagree.” Chanyeol murmured in a playfully snobbish tone, eyes scrolling through channels before finding a child friendly one. 

“Well…” Baekhyun murmured, trailing off into a laugh at the dramatic offense on Chanyeol's face. 

“Your opinion doesn’t matter, starting now.” Chanyeol growled, pinching Baekhyun's leg gently, “You gotta learn to love cartoons, baby. It’s just like that.” 

Snickering, Baekhyun scrunched his nose up in fake disgust before leaning over to press a quick kiss to Chanyeol's mouth, laying himself across Chanyeol's side comfortably, smiling to himself when Chanyeol immediately began to rub his hip. 

The day was mostly over after the twins ate, the two almost immediately falling asleep after watching cartoons and ooing and awing to each other. 

And then, it had been relatively still, Baekhyun was happy even just to be silent, and Chanyeol really didn’t want to ruin his night.

“I’ll go change - and put them down.” Baekhyun whispered, sitting up quietly, “Wait… what if they have an accident? Should… I put down towels?” 

“Baby.” Chanyeol shook his head fondly, “They're two, I don’t expect them not to have an accident every once in a while - it’s fine, nothing that can’t be cleaned. Okay?” 

Baekhyun laughed in embarrassment at his own suggestion, scooping up Jongin with a shy snort at himself. 

Chanyeol only smiled fondly, and everything about that was endearing.

Even when he came back and had dragged Kyungsoo to lay down in the guest bed, making sure both twins looked relatively equally in the middle, and changed - Chanyeol still looked so fond, especially seeing him in his clothes. 

“Adult time?” Chanyeol inquired with a cute tilt of his head and Baekhyun nodded with a smile, plopping down in his spot beside the man and chewing his lip in an internal debate as he watched Chanyeol scroll through on demand.

“Chanyeol.” 

Baekhyun only got a pretty smile before Chanyeol was tightening his arm around his shoulders and looking at the television.

He wasn’t sure if he was testing or not, but it had been months and Chanyeol hadn’t so much as tried to touch him at all - which he respected and admired, but Baekhyun was still curious because there wasn’t anything Chanyeol was getting out of being with him, if anything he was losing a lot.

So, Baekhyun was sitting up to throw a leg across his lap and getting a confused laugh as he shoved the remote out of Chanyeol's hand.

“Lots of surprises today.” Chanyeol cooed,wrapping arms around Baekhyun's waist.

Baekhyun didn’t spare him with a response, only adjusting how he was straddling his lap to sit closer and leaning down to capture his lips in a heated kiss.

They kissed often, recently it was every time they saw each other, but nothing like this, nothing with tongue and tiny, breathy sighs, nothing that had passion - it was all sweet before.

Baekhyun didn’t really want Chanyeol to show his sweet side, he wanted to see if this was really what he wanted, if this was something Chanyeol had been looking for all along.

But, Chanyeol's hand was soft as he cupped the back of his head, his teeth even scraping his bottom lip in such a calm manner Baekhyun's heart fluttered because he had never thought such a heated, rough kiss could somehow be soft, and warm.

“Baby.” Chanyeol sighed, pressing a few stray kisses to the corner of his mouth, smoothing hands down Baekhyun's sides, “You're beautiful.” He added, reaching up to push the hair from Baekhyun's forehead.

And he looked so fond, so… happy, Baekhyun felt horrible for ever thinking this was all Chanyeol wanted, when the truth was so obvious, right in front of his face.

“You… you don’t want to fuck me?” He asked.

Chanyeol looked at him confused, licking his red mouth, “I want to make love to you, yes. I don’t want to fuck you, no. And we aren’t doing either of those tonight, because it’s not right, I want it to be really good for you.” 

Baekhyun suddenly felt tears fill his eyes, and he had words he wanted to say sitting on his tongue, but they wouldn’t come out. So he instead tucked his head under Chanyeol's chin, hugging tightly around his chest. “Can I… sleep in your bed with you?” 

“It’s your bed too, if you want it.”


	7. Self Control

When Chanyeol woke up, it wasn’t alone. And his heart was full.

Baekhyun looked so pretty when he slept, and it could have been a handful of things - one of them completely being that Chanyeol's shirt hung off him like a dress, but it was just… him, calm, relaxed, and it was so pretty.

It wasn’t fair that the day Baekhyun finally opened up so much to him also happened to be a day Chanyeol had screamed at the daycare staff - it didn’t really matter too much until Chanyeol took action, but there wasn’t a way Baekhyun would allow Kyungsoo and Jongin to go back, and Chanyeol was all for it.

Chanyeol already had a sneaking suspicion Baekhyun already knew something was going on, and he completely understood that his boyfriend hadn’t had any other option - it was the cheapest daycare he could afford, it was perfect distance from his home and the diner, he understood that.

But he also knew Baekhyun wouldn’t allow for such blatant verbal abuse to his son, and even if Baekhyun didn’t feel strong enough to report it, Chanyeol really couldn’t give a fuck what happened to the place, he was calling the licensing center and getting the daycares license revoked, at least, and that was if they were lucky.

Honestly, Chanyeol really wanted to go all out and just call the police and report emotional abuse of a child, and he was sure they had cameras in the daycare, they would have proof.

But, god, he couldn’t believe this.

Kyungsoo was so, so sweet. So what he had a bit of trouble with talking, did it really affect anything about him being a bright child? No.

Did it make them love him any less than Jongin? Absolutely not.

And they had gone and told him not to speak, because he was “annoying” Chanyeol couldn't wrap his head around what kind of heartless monster would spit what sounded like a useless insult at a child.

The issue was, it wasn’t useless at all, it was used to hurt Kyungsoo's feeling - and Jongin's in his brother's defense, and it had taught the toddlers that this was what he should expect from adults.

Chanyeol was raging, and he didn’t want to tell Baekhyun, but knew it was something they had to discuss.

But, god, Baekhyun was blinking at him so sweetly, curling his fingers into his shirt and pouting his lips for a kiss, that Chanyeol granted immediately, and he really didn’t want to ruin this.

“Morning.” Baekhyun whispered, pressing his nose into Chanyeol's softly before relaxing in the crook of his neck, “Your bed is so soft.”

Chanyeol both wanted to frown and laugh, but opted just to run fingers over the back of his neck, pressing his lips to his temple. “I’m glad, I can’t hear any demons running around, so I assume they’re still asleep.”

“Mhm, they take a while to get up when they aren’t woken.”

Chanyeol hummed, internally wishing Baekhyun would go back to sleep so he could have a reason to push off mentioning it, but Baekhyun made cute noises in his sleep, and he wasn’t hearing any sign of them.

“Baby. You know how I picked up the twins yesterday?”

“You bought them car seats.” Baekhyun mumbled, pulling back from his neck to lay on his side and stare at him, fingers trailing almost seductively across his stomach to rest on Chanyeol's side.

“I did. It’s easier if we just had our own - anyways.” Chanyeol shook off what he was going to rant, “So, something happened, and… I probably didn’t handle it very well.”

Baekhyun didn’t really seem to be listening that closely, only humming and picking at lint on Chanyeol's shirt.

“Baek, when I got there, I was getting the babies ready to go, and Soo… he just looked off, teary eyed and quiet, and it wasn’t like him… because, you know, he gets excited when we see each other.”

“Me too.” Baekhyun muttered, looking interested.

Chanyeol groaned, unable to resist turning on his side and pressing their fronts together, “You're making this really difficult for me to tell you, baby.”

Baekhyun raised a brow, raising his arm to drape over his head, combing Chanyeol's hair from his face.

“Baekhyun, I… I asked him and he wasn’t answering, so Jongin spoke up and… he told me, or, tried to tell me that one of the staff told Kyungsoo that he shouldn’t talk because it was annoying.”

The hand combing through his hair suddenly dropped to rest on his head and Chanyeol was wrapping his arms around Baekhyun's waist when he noticed the clenched jaw, “Baek, I lost my fucking mind, of course I wouldn’t let anyone get away with that - so I yelled at the girl working, made her give up all the owners information and I’m going to report this - to the child care licensing place, police, anywhere that you want me to. We’re not letting someone get away with child abuse, baby.”

“The girl…” Baekhyun's voice was a deep, dark tone Chanyeol had never heard in his life, he was the calm looking mad, the kind where you wouldn’t know he was mad unless you knew him as well as Chanyeol and noticed his jaw clenched and his fingers tightening. “What’d she look like?”

“Uh…. dark hair, it looked like it was colored a little… maybe a few years older than you, maybe twenty six, I don’t remember that well, baby, I was so mad.”

“Dumb bitch.” Baekhyun spat, “I bet it was her, she always, always was mad when I’d arrive even a few minutes late, judgemental without knowing a fucking thing.”

Chanyeol sighed at the first sign of angry tears and was quickly rubbing them away with his thumbs, “I have the information, we can do whatever you want.”

“I… you know, I should’ve expected this.” Baekhyun sniffed and was pulling away to sit up straight and Chanyeol's entire body hurt as he ran a comforting hand up and down his thin spine. “I… Jongin said they didn’t have friends, I should’ve just.. taken them somewhere else, and… and then Minseok said that Jongin was crying when he went to get them a few months ago, and looked like he had been a while… Chanyeol, am..”

“This is not your fault.” Chanyeol said immediately, pulling Baekhyun to rest between his legs and leaning his entire body over Baekhyun's, “Don't even say it, it’s not your fault, you’re the best parent - the twins love you so much.”

Baekhyun wasn’t a loud crier, but somehow that hurt even more when he just laid his head back against Chanyeol's shoulder and just… let tears fall down his face.

“Shh, Baekhyun, this isn’t okay - and I know that, but it will be when we make sure they never do that to another child again. Kyungsoo bounced back really fast, we’ll just give him a lot of love, baby, and you already give so much, you’re doing so well.”

“Ch-Chanyeol.. I can't… what do I do?”

Chanyeol knew what he was talking about, and didn’t even need to think twice about his words as he grabbed his shaking hands, wrapping his arms right around him, “Don't worry, we’ll figure it out. Until we find a daycare, I’ll take them to work with me, and there will be no problems. I’ll set up a little area for them, and everything will be fine. If I have a meeting I’m sure one of our friends would be willing to come watch for an hour - and if not then they’ll go with me. They’re good kids, beautiful, they wouldn’t cause problems at all.”

“I can’t.. ask that of you.” Baekhyun cried, shuffling slightly only to turn sideways and curl completely, vulnerably into a ball between his legs, as if Chanyeol could protect him from anything.

“You don’t have to ask for anything. It’s already done, baby. I love the twins and I’ll take care of them.”

Chanyeol gulped and licked his lips nervously before grabbing Baekhyun's chin, pressing a kiss to a trial of tears, “And I love you, I want to take care of you too. I love you, Baekhyun.”

Baekhyun's face contorted even more painfully, and Chanyeol had half a mind to take it back, but then Baekhyun was pressing a wet kiss to his cheek and nuzzling into his jaw with a sob, the most sound he made while crying this whole time, “Love you. I love you too. Tha-Thank you, thank you, Chanyeol. I love you.”

Chanyeol didn’t even care when Baekhyun had come to this conclusion, because it definitely was not practically at first sight months ago as he had, but he really couldn’t care because it sounded like music coming from Baekhyun's lips even though he was crying.

They loved each other, and finally knowing his feelings went both ways was a whole new, relieved shock to his system.

“Hey, lets stop crying, my love. Don’t cry, it’s family day, remember? We’ll figure out what to do later, and then you let me know and I’ll do it. What do you think?”

Baekhyun nodded against his jaw before leaning away with a sigh, and then laughing slightly, “I can hear Kyungsoo… he’s probably trying to get out.”

“Ah, shit.” Chanyeol laughed, pressing a kiss under Baekhyun's ear before moving to the end of the bed, I’ll let him out of jail and then make breakfast. Coffee or juice?”

“Is this a joke? After this long you don’t know.”

“Obviously - I know juice is your favorite.” Chanyeol snickered, laughing at Baekhyun's mock offended face, “Alright, alright- strong coffee, no sugar. I know, beautiful.”

***

“ ‘scawy! Sayed grr, mean.”

Chanyeol laughed, “No way there’s a monster in there, Soo. I made sure to check before you went in!” He exclaimed dramatically, grabbing the plate of hot eggs to add to the growing collection on the table while Kyungsoo was telling his dramatic story.

“No way, loey!”

Chanyeol cried out in offense, turning off the stove quickly before kneeling down to the two year olds level, “Who do you think I am? You think I’d let a monster go in there for you? No way! I fought the monster before making it your room!”

Kyungsoo awed so genuinely Chanyeol laughed fondly, pressing a kiss to his nose quickly and standing up, “I’ll be back, I’m going to go grab your brother and then we can eat. Don’t touch, it’s hot.”

“Wisten Loey.”

“I know, you listen to me so well, peanut. I’ll be really fast.”

Chanyeol couldn't help smiling softly as he walked by the bathroom and heard the water running. It was a bit weird to hear it and it not be him inside, but he really, really liked it.

And knowing it was Baekhyun made it ten times better, almost equal to how fond he felt watching Jongin sleeping in the middle of the bed, fingers pressed to his mouth.

Having them in his home was so fitting, and made Chanyeol feel so incredibly happy.

Jongin groaned as soon as Chanyeol was lifting him to his chest, and Baekhyun really hadn’t been kidding about him sleeping really long.

Kyungsoo had been up watching cartoons and blabbering for at least an hour and a half. Baekhyun probably didn’t even realize he had been in the shower at least forty five minutes, which Chanyeol didn’t mind at all, but somewhat wondered if the reason was caused by their shitty apartment.

He really didn’t mean to judge the place so harshly, knowing that it protected them from the elements and was somewhat inhabitable, but Chanyeol just wanted so much better for them.

“We’re eating breakfast, Jonginnie, time to wake up. Then, we’re going to watch movies together, sound fun?” Chanyeol asked, patting his back before kneeling down to seat him on the pillowed dining chair - to try and give them a bit better of a position to eat.

Maybe he’d look into getting them booster seats, especially Kyungsoo who had two pillows and still was struggling to reach his plastic cup.

“Food, food!” Kyungsoo chirped loudly, startling Jongin.

Jongin scrunched up his nose when Chanyeol started moving away and water works had Chanyeol picking him up to sit him in his own lap instead, “Ah, you like to cuddle in the morning, got it.”

Jongin only gave a tired grunt in response, playing with the sleeve of Chanyeol's pajamas. Quiet in the morning it seemed too, Chanyeol realized.

“Mama done!” The smaller twin giggled, hearing the water shut off.

“No way, we should make plates then, huh? Mommy had the perfect time to get out - after all the work was done, huh?” Chanyeol joked, watching Kyungsoo raise his brows and nod seriously as if he really understood even though Chanyeol knew he had zero clue.

Holding Jongin with his arm, Chanyeol leaned over to start making plates, immediately giving Kyungsoo his plate first because the toddler had been waiting patiently all morning.

“You awake? Are you going to eat all by yourself?” Chanyeol soothed, combing back Jongin's hair.

The toddler rubbed his eye and nodded slightly, “Juice?”

Laughing, Chanyeol moved to sit him in his original spot, going to get his requested juice.

“Ah, how rude, started without me?”

Chanyeol chuckled fondly, turning around at fingers touching his side, pressing a kiss to Baekhyun's lips, “You know me, no self control.”

This wasn’t something that had ever happened before, but Baekhyun was suddenly smirking lustfully, curling fingers into Chanyeol’s shirt, “I think you should have less self control.” He whispered under his breath, pressing another kiss to Chanyeol's lips, sticking close.

Chanyeol swallowed roughly, arm coming to pull Baekhyun closer, “I won’t have any left if you act like this.”

Baekhyun smiled then, eyes looking all around his face before settling on his with an emotion that Chanyeol only now could say was love, “Then don’t, I’m not going to break.”

“Say that again when I’m not worried about you.” Chanyeol whispered fondly, lifting Baekhyun's chin to press a chaste kiss to his mouth, “You’ve come a long way, but let’s make sure you get a round face, hm?”

Baekhyun grinned boxily, rolling his eyes playfully and pulling away, grabbing his coffee off the counter and walking across the room to the table, “What if I get fat, what then, Chanyeol?” He teased.

“Still love you, baby!” Chanyeol cried instantly across the room.

Baekhyun's loud giggling was more than enough reason to feel happy the rest of the day, even long after he had to take them home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! 👋🏻 how are you guys holding up? On the bright side, quarantine lets me write more often!


	8. New Step

Baekhyun had given him permission to do, ‘whatever you feel like, Chan. I trust you.’ And Chanyeol had done what he originally planned.

He had called a child care licensing center, and to say the woman he spoke to was opauled was an understatement.

In fact, she had gotten all of his information and told him that this would be in police records due to the likelihood that other incidents had likely occurred and that they would be looking into the matter immediately.

In the meantime the daycare was put on a 90 day probation while they investigated, and Chanyeol had been told that it wasn’t likely they would be able to reopen, and if they did, Chanyeol was ready to make a huge scene again - anything for the twins.

They wouldn’t open again likely due to the news coverage on the matter anyways. Of course, the specifics were unknown as were the family who reported, but once people caught wind the daycare was under probation many had started taking their children out.

In other news, Chanyeol had been bringing the children to work with him and just as he expected, they weren’t an issue at all.

They mostly played by themselves if Chanyeol was busy, but were extremely happy to receive his attention when it was time to put them down for naps, or when he just took a break in general.

Yifan even came by since they were in the same building, and Chanyeol had seen the moment he was all for the twins and his relationship even though he had been one of the ones most worried about it.

Things were going fantastic, even if the twins did get fussy sometimes.

But, there was one thing that Chanyeol hoped he could figure out soon.

Baekhyun was always tired, and always looked so stressed out, but it was becoming too much recently when Chanyeol had checked his work bag and his lunch was still sitting inside untouched, and when had Baekhyun simply said he hadn’t had time to eat - which Chanyeol pointed out was illegal, and Baekhyun had distracted him with a few kisses, and he hadn’t forgotten, but he knew it was Baekhyun's way of saying not to talk about it anymore, so he wasn’t, for now.

But he would figure out how to find Baekhyun a better job, and if Baekhyun really wanted to work in the first place because Chanyeol didn't even want him to have to work at all - not until he was healthy at least.

If Baekhyun really wanted to work then Chanyeol was sure he could ask Jongdae or Yifan if they had any openings on their side of the building, because technically Chanyeol couldn't be his boss due to their relationship - but Yifan or Jongdae could, and they were good people.

Baekhyun really didn’t have to worry about money, Chanyeol wanted him to realize that as they were pushing almost a year of being together and he was growing more worried everyday about him.

What was Chanyeol's he considered Baekhyun's too.

  
***

“S-Sawed- Loey! Loey, sawed- th-the-“ Kyungsoo cut himself off with an angry flap of his hand and threw his head back in a tantrum when he couldn’t get out what he was trying to say.

Chanyeol only picked him up, sliding his little boots on, “I know, baby, I’ll see what mommy says, okay? Maybe we can see the animals, but we have to see if mommy can find time. But - Halloween is tomorrow and we haven’t got you a costume!”

Jongin was suddenly spinning around at the words with a little devastated face, “ ‘alloween!” He cried, holding their ragged doll in both hands.

“Don’t worry.” Chanyeol soothed, “We’re going to go get you costumes right now, my love. Need to get mommy and then go to the store, so put your jacket on, Nini.”

“I… I be Spider-Man!” Jongin added, little feet stomping his way over to yank his jacket off the back of the chair.

Since today was a weekend, Chanyeol didn’t have to work, but Baekhyun, of course, did.

Chanyeol really hated it when Baekhyun didn’t have a single day off. At least it was only a short shift at the diner that Baekhyun didn’t seem to hate working at, and he had slept in this morning - Chanyeol knew because when he went to pick up the twins at noon, Baekhyun had still been laying on the futon with a sippy cup almost dripping out of his hand.

Chanyeol had no idea how Baekhyun used to do this, because now he gave him rides to and from work everyday, adamant that it was unsafe for them to walk even though Baekhyun said he had been doing so for years.

That didn’t make Chanyeol feel better at all.

“Yeah? I like Iron Man better.” Chanyeol teased, herding the two out the door, hitting the automatic lock outside the door.

He was also happy to have a number lock so he didn’t have to do the awkward offer of his keys, but he made sure Baekhyun knew the implication of telling him the code anyways.

“Loey, up, pease.” Kyungsoo tugged on his coat and Chanyeol hadn’t expected any differently, immediately scooping up the baby and reaching for Jongin's hand.

Honestly, it had been so long since he had met the twins, and he felt Kyungsoo hadn’t grown at all.

Jongin had, he could remember the taller barely able to reach halfway up his calf when they first met, but now he could rest his temple almost on his knee, and Chanyeol was tall, so he was beginning to suspect Jongin might be one day too.

Halloween also meant it was nearing the twins birthday the coming January, and that alone made Chanyeol's chest hurt so he couldn’t even imagine how Baekhyun felt.

Just two more months and the babies would be three, and then only a few weeks later would be their year anniversary - but frankly it felt like a lifetime they’d been together.

“Kish.” Kyungsoo requested with a pretty smile, pressing his nose into Chanyeol's hair.

Chanyeol laughed, turning to press a kiss to his cheek, “I know, I love you too, Soo.” He cooed, pointing which button for Jongin to hit on the elevator. “Do you guys like it better with me than daycare? Soon, we’re going to put you in preschool, mommy was talking about it the other day.”

Jongin shook his head against Chanyeol's leg then, “Stay with you.”

“Don’t worry, I’m going to find you guys a very, very good school. It won’t be like the other one, mommy and I will even go talk to all the teachers if we have to, okay? Don’t be scared.”

“Not scawe.” Kyungsoo argued, flailing his arms angrily when Chanyeol set him down to open his car door, “Stay you!”

Sighing, but also unable to deny how warm his chest felt, Chanyeol picked Jongin up to buckle him in, “Let’s talk about it when it’s time, I’d never let anything happen to you two gremlins. Right? You know Yeol wouldn’t let anything happen.” He prompted, turning to press his forehead to Jongin's for a split second before pulling Kyungsoo closer to the open door, “I love you like mommy loves you, you don’t understand now, but you will.”

“Wub you.” Kyungsoo stated almost like he was ready to argue, “Loey stay me an Nini.”

“That's the only choice, baby.” Chanyeol assured, picking him up to go put him in on the other side, “Don't worry, Soo. Mommy and I won’t let anyone be mean to you again.”

“Soo telled me that… that you lub mommy so you mommy be always.” Jongin added when Chanyeol crouched on the other side to buckle Kyungsoo.

“Of course I love your mommy. I’m not going anywhere. Not away from you and mommy.”

Chanyeol watched Jongin nod in approval before the toddler was leaning forward with puckered lips, and pressing a wet kiss to Chanyeol's cheek when he leaned over to receive it.

~~~~~~

“Baek, you sure you feel okay?” Chanyeol worried, reaching over to push his hair back and feel his forehead with his palm as he unbuckled himself.

Baekhyun nodded with a slight delay in response, rubbing his eye with his palm, pushing his door open and squinting slightly at the store's bright lights. “Yeah, stressed out.”

That was the truth, but the whole truth was that it had been months since he had heard a thing from his landlord, so he had been continuing to do automatic payments, but he knew not to get his hopes up, and also knew it took a long while to get an official eviction notice approved, so it had been stressing him out lately - the idea that he didn’t even know when he would receive the two week notice.

Due to that, he had already started packing up some things late while the twins slept, because he was positive he was only pushing his luck by having not gotten it yet.

He heard Chanyeol sigh, and knew his boyfriend had things he’d like to say, but he didn’t say anything. Only going to get Jongin out of the backseat while Baekhyun picked up a mostly asleep Kyungsoo.

“What’d you guys do today? Soo is already tired.” Baekhyun added a smile, and was sure it looked tired because Chanyeol was kneeling down to strap Jongin into the little blue seat of the toddler cart and immediately reach up for Kyungsoo.

“Kyungsoo had a tantrum earlier because he thought I wasn’t understanding what he was saying.” Chanyeol explained, reaching out to pull Baekhyun to his side as they entered the store. “I think they’re just getting bored at my house because I don’t have a lot of toys.”

Baekhyun sighed, knowing what he was going for.

“Baek, baby, my love. You know I want to, I want to get them some clothes, and some toys they can keep at my house. I’ll get pull ups if you think they’ll need them too.” He threw in as if that was what Baekhyun was worried about.

Baekhyun snorted, wrapping his arm around Chanyeol's that was pushing the cart, “Jongin only needs them at night, Yeol. Soo… hasn’t had an accident in forever.”

Chanyeol hummed deeply, turning to press a few kisses to Baekhyun's hair, “I know, love. So, you agree, right?”

“Chanyeol, you’re already buying them Halloween costumes, I’ll just give you stuff they already have for your house. I won’t let you spend more money than you need to, I.. I’ll buy them some toys when I get my next check.”

Baekhyun eyed Chanyeol, saw the slight purse in his lips and they both knew he was lying - not because he didn’t want to buy toys, he would buy the kids new toys if he could afford it, but they both knew he couldn’t.

“Baby.” Chanyeol stopped the cart next to Halloween costumes and heard Jongin's excited noise, and smiled as he cupped Baekhyun's cheek, pulling their faces together, “You work your ass off, they should be paying you at least double what you’re making, at least. You make barely more there than working your night shifts at the diner, and there’s a huge difference in hours worked.”

“I can’t quit.” Baekhyun said softly, eyes slightly teary because he was just so stressed, “Chanyeol, I want to take care of my kids. I… I want to be an adult too, and.. I-I want to make sure that i'm not - not pushing -“

“Baekhyun, I love you guys.” Chanyeol soothed, pressing a kiss to his brow, “You're the best mother, and the twins couldn’t be happier, but … there are things I know you don’t tell me, and that’s fine, but I won’t let you be scared and I won’t let you be so sad all the time, so I’m going to take care of you all. You could never push when I’m literally wanting you to invade all of my space, you deserve everything you want, and one day… you won’t be scared to ask for help, and you won’t blink twice about using my money - what’s mine is yours.”

Baekhyun didn’t have a response, not that Chanyeol was really searching for one, but he pressed a kiss to Chanyeol's mouth before pressing a few more pecks to his cheek, hands finding purchase on Chanyeol's arms. “I love you so much.”

Chanyeol’s smile was always huge when he heard Baekhyun say that, and today wasn’t any different as he ran his nose across his before pressing a firm kiss to the center of his forehead. “I loved you first.”

Baekhyun snickered and hit his side for ruining the moment, walking away to pluck Jongin out at his angry grunting.

“You know.” He began, licking over his teeth and squeezing Jongin's hand so he wouldn’t run off. “That sounded an awful lot like you were hinting at marriage, Mr. Park.”

Chanyeol positively groaned at the knowing look on Baekhyun's face, leaning over the cart handle, “And if I was, beautiful?”

As usual, Baekhyun seemed to be expecting an answer somewhat like that and giggled, sucking his lip into his mouth in a way he knew killed Chanyeol. “I’d say… I’ve never been offered a ring before, unique pick up line.”

“Someone ever offers you a ring, I’ll beat them up, Baek. Swear to god, baby.” Chanyeol smiled when Baekhyun absolutely lit up and laughed loudly.

  
***

“Get over here, my little hero.”

Baekhyun laughed as Kyungsoo dressed in an Iron Man outfit launched himself into his chest, holding up his plastic pumpkin shaped bucket, “Canny!”

“Candy!” Chanyeol mimicked, patting Jongin's back as the toddler lulled tiredly, “Spider-Man is down, we need to go home and re-energize.”

“We need to go home and get the little ones to bed.” Baekhyun corrected. “Hey, no, you know you don’t eat them until mommy checks.”

Kyungsoo dropped the tootsie roll back in his basket and huffed as he threw his head back, “Mommy one pease.”

“Mommy will give you one when we get back home, one piece and then bedtime.”

Chanyeol beamed huge atBaekhyun's words, catching his referral of Chanyeol's flat as home rather than just Chanyeol's as he usually did.

“Deal.” The toddler nodded in approval.

“Deal?” Baekhyun snorted, pressing a kiss to Kyungsoo's hand that was touching his face. “Who taught you that, huh?”

“Loey!”

“Yeollie, did? You love Chanyeol, huh? You spend so much time together now.” Baekhyun cooed, eye smiling when Chanyeol opened the door for them.

Kyungsoo yawned before nodding, and Baekhyun snorted, knowing he wouldn’t even be awake by the time they were off the elevator to go upstairs.

“Well, I love little Soo also.” Chanyeol added.

Baekhyun was always impressed that Chanyeol could hold the babies with one arm and do other things.

It was because the man was huge, had muscles Baekhyun didn’t even know were attractive until he met Chanyeol, and he would be lying if he said lately he hadn’t wished Chanyeol would do more with him other than kissing and occasionally making out.

“Mommy.” Kyungsoo whispered in his ear, his candy bucket sitting forgotten about on his arm.

Baekhyun shushed him softly, rubbing his temple before sharing a look with Chanyeol as he opened the door, they both knew the twins were done for.

“Nigh-night, baby. Go to sleep.” Baekhyun soothed, playing him down on the couch and separating his fingers from his bucket before removing his pajamas.

“I’ll go lay Jongin down, I’ll bring you some pajamas for Kyungsoo.” Chanyeol stated, setting Jongin’s candy bowl on the table.

“Don’t worry about it.” Baekhyun mumbled, “They can sleep in their underwear for the night - I want to eat their candy.”

Chanyeol was chuckling as quietly as he could, waiting for Baekhyun to finish undressing the toddler, “Oh, so we’re going to turn into one of those couples, eating all the kids candy?”

“Just the good ones.” Baekhyun teased, lifting Kyungsoo up, “Don't tell me you aren’t tempted, you know candy tastes better when it’s not yours.” He laughed, following Chanyeol down the hall.

“You’re the devil.” Chanyeol gawked playfully, laying a blanket over both of the twins.

Baekhyun grinned and held the door open, closing it quietly when Chanyeol walked out, “You love it.”

“Definitely - I call the Hershey’s.”

It was Baekhyun's turn to gawk, “No fair they’re the best!”

Chanyeol stuck his tongue out and held one of the buckets over his head, playfully running towards his bedroom, “You're too small, baby, too bad!”

All it took was a big pout and Chanyeol was rolling his eyes playfully, laying back on the bed with the candy sitting next to him.

Baekhyun beamed, laying down on his stomach and reaching for candy, “So mean to me, Chanyeollie.”

“Well, you are the one stealing toddlers candy.”

Baekhyun whined, hitting his thigh, “You're eating it too!”

Chanyeol shrugged, laughing at how playfully offended Baekhyun looked, “No comment.”

Baekhyun just laughed, moving over to press a kiss to Chanyeol's covered thigh, sighing in pleasure when the man began to comb his hair from his cheek.

Times like these were rare, times when they could just relax without worrying over something or without a baby interrupting.

Usually, there wasn’t much time for anything more than kissing because Baekhyun would be too tired, and Chanyeol had still kept to his idea that he wanted them to have a good first time, but this was honestly ridiculous.

Baekhyun hadn’t been touched since he had gotten pregnant with the twins and even then, he wasn’t in the most pleasant of circumstances.

It was impressive that Chanyeol hadn’t even made moves, but Baekhyun hadn’t ever been so attracted to someone, ever.

He was sitting up then, getting a confused noise from Chanyeol as he pushed his empty wrappers to the side and climbed off the bed, immediately reaching for the edge of his sweater.

“What are you doing?” Chanyeol mused, eyeing the pale skin of Baekhyun's back as the smaller began to unbutton his jeans.

He was still skinnier than Chanyeol liked to see, but nothing that caused the slightly grey tone to his skin and that had what little muscles he had shaking when he lifted the twins.

“Going to bed.” Baekhyun smirked mischievously, stripped down to his boxers and climbing back onto the bed, this time bracing palms on Chanyeol's chest and situating himself over the top of him, “With my boyfriend.”

“Hm.” Chanyeol hummed, placing warm palms on Baekhyun's hips and looking at him appreciatively, sitting up to press a kiss to his throat, “So gorgeous. My beautiful baby.”

Licking his lips, Baekhyun smiled and trailed his hands down Chanyeol's chest, dropping just above his jeans and leaning down to press lips down the side of his neck. “Want you to touch me, Chanyeol.”

He heard the man’s voice catch, but didn’t have to wait long before Chanyeol was cupping his ass, pulling their fronts firmly together, “Fuck. Baekhyun, I won’t have sex with you now, but I’ll touch you, baby, been waiting so long to see how pretty you look like this.”

With an appreciative noise, Baekhyun was rolling their hips together, the fabric between them providing harsh friction, and it felt fantastic, but next time he didn’t want anything between them.

He could feel Chanyeol's length pressing into his inner thigh and always suspected him to be huge, as he was a huge man, but Baekhyun was still impressed - as he often was with Chanyeol.

“Fuck, Baekhyun.” Chanyeol groaned, lifting his own hips up as Baekhyun found rhythm, hands pushing Chanyeol's shirt up to his chest as he placed palms to the man’s navel to steady himself. “Shit. So pretty.”

Baekhyun's breath caught at the hands Chanyeol was shoving under his waistband, bare hands playing with the soft skin of his ass and the smaller moaned, hips stuttering out of rhythm when Chanyeol squeezed roughly, his hands were so strong, harsh, but his soft words and wet kisses made up for it.

“Kiss me.” Baekhyun panted, not having to wait too long before Chanyeol was sucking on his lips, wet and dirty, moans pouring between their lips.

They’d never done anything this passionate before, and Baekhyun wasn’t sure how long he could keep hands to himself after this, because the second he was tightening his thighs around Chanyeol's hips, the man was cooing praises, urging his hips to keep rocking through his orgasm and Baekhyun was completely limp in his arms, vulnerable and trusting.

“So good, love you so much.” Chanyeol smiled into his cheek as Baekhyun shakily moved to lay beside him, leg curled over Chanyeol's.

Baekhyun closed his eyes with a tired smile when kisses pressed all over his face, moving his hand into Chanyeol's waistband and feeling his breath catch against his face, “You too.” He whispered.

Chanyeol didn’t argue, only bucking his hips a few times in between Baekhyun's fingers until a warmth filled the smallers hand combined with a deep, addicting moan of his name.

“Love you.” Baekhyun added quietly, eyes peeking open just to nuzzle his nose on Chanyeol's and remove his wet hand, “Never loved anyone like I do you.”

“I feel the exact same.” Chanyeol assured, pulling back a bit just to rid himself of his jeans and shirt, matching Baekhyun's state of undress with one Baekhyun was positive was more attractive than his.

But Chanyeol was his, so Baekhyun was just happy he had someone so godly.

“Oh, fuck, you keep doing that we’ll have to go again.” Chanyeol warned, watching Baekhyun lick the stickiness off his hand.

“Hm, good?”

“The best.” Chanyeol groaned, pulling them together again despite how sticky and uncomfortable he knew they both would be if they didn’t clean up.

Baekhyun smiled softly, laying his head in the crook of Chanyeol's neck, “Been a long time for me to do anything, so I’m happy. Not since the twins were conceived.”

Chanyeol frowned at that, because that meant it had been years upon years Baekhyun hadn’t been loved, hadn’t been given affection.

Honestly, from the point of meeting Baekhyun until now was the longest he had gone without seeking some kind of sex or the like, and that hadn’t been a complete year yet.

“Well, whenever you ever want, baby. I’ll love you up.” He promised, wetly kissing what he could of Baekhyun's head.

Baekhyun made such a pleased noise Chanyeol was sure he really, really appreciated it.


	9. Haunting & Hurt

Baekhyun was having the absolutely worst day.

First, he had woken up late to Chanyeol coming into his apartment and trying to dress him for work even though he knew the man’s scowl the whole time was because he was so worried about how tired he had been lately.

Then, he had completely forgotten his coffee Chanyeol had bought him in the car.

And now, his boss was on a rampage.

As soon as he stepped in he was scolded for being late even though the truth was he was exactly on time, but he couldn’t really tell his boss that, especially not when he was red in the face mad.

Baekhyun hadn’t ever seen him so angry, and he had seen him plenty pissed.

It made his heart race out of his chest, scared but also angry at his own response.

It had been almost three years and nine months he had to deal with any sort of fear that someone would hurt him, that someone would lay hands on him.

Well, that wasn’t exactly true, the first almost two years he was extremely paranoid, scared of his ex coming back for him.

He was kind of scared to tell Chanyeol about it, but not because he was scared of Chanyeol flipping like his ex had, but because he knew his boyfriend would be way more unforgiving than he was.

Chanyeol had never even played aggressively, not even joking, the most “aggressive” action he had ever done to Baekhyun was maybe pinch him playfully or squeeze him.

It could hardly even be considered aggression, and Baekhyun knew real aggression, had seen real anger.

Anger that had hands pinning him to walls, not sweet like he had from Chanyeol, but bruising, and insults spat at him.

Bruises he had to hide and a shiver down his spine everywhere he went.

It was too much after a while, excuses could only cover up so much, and Baekhyun wasn’t a clumsy person - his brother knew he wasn’t clumsy so that excuse got old fast.

But, after an argument that had the neighbors calling the police and him being lifted into an ambulance - he found out he was pregnant, and he could deal with being hurt, but he couldn’t deal with his children being hurt.

He was gone with all his savings the day he had been released from the hospital, leaving all the evidence photos in the police's hands and never bothering to look up how it went, or ask Junmyeon about it.

All he knew was it was over, and the twins were safe, and happy - with him and Chanyeol.

“Baekhyun, I told you to finish the monthly log.”

Baekhyun startled at Daejoon leaning across his desk, “I did, I did - they're on your desk.”

Daejoon stared at him for a good few seconds, unnerving every second Baekhyun had to feel it.

“Are they? I didn’t see them, come with me.” His boss barked, curling his fingers up and walking towards his office.

With a sigh, Baekhyun was dropping his pen and following shakily.

“Sir, I get off in only a few minutes.”

“Find me the papers.” Daejoon ordered, standing by the door and crossing his arms, Baekhyun frowned, uncomfortable at the man not being in view as he walked towards the desk, digging through the mess he knew wasn’t here at the beginning of his shift.

He picked a few papers up, reading the tops and setting them aside when he came across employee pay.

Baekhyun knew it was invasive, but he couldn’t help the small peek at the numbers and found his mouth twisting.

Out of all of the workers here, he spent the most hours here, often taking overtime whenever he could, but the hours on here were shorted - his overtime hadn’t even been 1.5x hourly pay.

Chanyeol had mentioned he felt Baekhyun didn’t get paid enough, and ever since Chanyeol mentioned it the first time, Baekhyun had realized his pay stubs usually didn’t have specified hours marked, and he had seen Chanyeol printing blank pay stub slips for his employees and they detailed everything down to the minute they walked in.

Baekhyun was frankly pissed - that money could have bought his boys snacks, pull ups, clothes.

It wasn’t even really about the money - it was about the fact that Baekhyun had been so glad to be working in general, not many places wanted to hire when he didn’t have a college degree, or really any special skills - and he had been played for years.

Getting harassed and feeling uncomfortable most of the many hours he put in here for years and he hadn’t even gotten what he deserved.

“Sir.” Baekhyun pressed his lips together and grabbed the papers he had originally been looking for, setting them on a clean corner of the desk, “I’ve been meaning to talk to you… about a raise.”

“You want a raise?”

Daejoon did sound surprised, probably because Baekhyun avoided talking to him more than needed.

“Yes.” Baekhyun stood up straight and hoped he didn’t look as nervous as he felt, “I’ve been here years, I’ve called in one time, and I do most of the odd jobs others were supposed to be doing - I want a raise.”

Baekhyun thought Daejoon looked vaguely impressed, but the man then pulled off the door to walk towards him, a disgusting smirk on his face as he intentionally brushed against Baekhyun to look at the papers. “And what would you do for it?”

Baekhyun's face went through a range of emotions, confused to anger to disgust. “You’re kidding, right? You’ve been shorting me for years - I won’t do shit for a raise I deserve.”

Scoffing, Daejoon neared, pressing right against him and Baekhyun gawked, unable to control himself as he stepped back.

“Listen, you basically work under the table - it’s not shorting when you factor in that taxes aren’t being counted, now, if you want a raise you’ll have to show better than that you can print papers - what other skills are you good at?

I’ll make it easy for you and cut to the chase, I already know you want me. Playing hard to get can only last so long.”

This was such bullshit. Baekhyun didn’t work under the table, he paid taxes like everyone else - it was just an excuse for Daejoons actions, Baekhyun hated excuses.

Especially ones that tried to make it seem like it was his own doing, because he had heard them so much in the past, and right now he felt like puking because he hadn’t been doing shit to Daejoon - an excuse for the dark lust in the man’s eyes and the hand that was grabbing Baekhyun's wrist.

“Don’t fucking touch me.” Baekhyun growled, trying to shove him off but Daejoon tightened his hold painfully.

“Oh, don’t play hard to get, baby.”

Baekhyun snapped, his wrist was throbbing and he already knew it was discoloring, he swore he’d never let a person mistreat him again.

“Don’t fucking touch me!” He screamed louder, yanking his arm so hard he knew he caused the bruise to spread as he backed towards the door, “You’re fucking dead! My boyfriends going to fucking kill you!”

“You step out that door and you're fired, bitch.” Daejoon growled as Baekhyun's shaking hand grabbed the doorknob.

Baekhyun did stiffen at that, but he was too mad to care, thoughts distorted as he yanked the door open, only taking an extra second to grab a picture of the twins off his desk and storm out, tears streaming down his face as soon as he spotted the familiar, sleek black car.

Chanyeol was looking into the backseat, laughing at something with the twins and Baekhyun couldn't hold it in, dropping into the seat, slamming the door, and immediately grabbing his face for his attention.

His face dropped immediately, so fast Baekhyun cried harder because he had ruined their fun.

“Baekhyun, Baek, baby. What happened?” Chanyeol worried, cupping his face and frantically wiping his tears that seemed never ending.

“C… Can we take the kids to.. Junmyeons?” Baekhyun stuttered, barely registering his own hand buckling his seatbelt.

Chanyeol eyed him for a good few seconds before nodding, “Of course, we’ll drop them off and you’ll stay the night with me, and we’ll talk.”

Baekhyun nodded immediately, pulling his legs into his seat and his sleeves well over his palms, both because he didn’t want Chanyeol to leave the car if he saw the bruising red marks and he knew Chanyeol would, absolutely would go beat the hell out of Daejoon, because he loved him, and he hated when Baekhyun cried.

“Please don’t cry, here, hold my hand and type the address into the screen. I love you, you’ll be okay, baby.”

And Baekhyun loved him too.

***

The twins had been excited to see Junmyeon, probably because they hadn’t seen him in a few weeks, not since Baekhyun had managed to get Chanyeol and him to meet, so they weren’t the issue.

The issue was that Chanyeol's chest was hurting, and Baekhyun had only stopped crying a few minutes ago, so, as he held his hand and silently walked him into his flat - he didn’t want Baekhyun to cry again.

But he needed to know what happened, because something had obviously gone down and Baekhyun had been clutching an old worn picture of the twins as babies for dear life.

So, either Baekhyun finally decided he couldn’t take it anymore and left or his boss had fired him for probably nothing Baekhyun had really done.

“Hungry?” He asked quietly, kissing the side of Baekhyun's curls and pulling his legs into his lap, “You want me to make you dinner, my love?”

Baekhyun shook his head, setting the picture on the coffee table before turning to wrap his arms around Chanyeol's ribs, pressing his ear down on his chest. “I quit.”

“Then why are you so upset, sweetheart. I’m really happy to hear that, but you were crying so much, and you know I hate that.”

“I… I - you know… I never told you about the twins dad.”

Chanyeol frowned slightly, wondering if Baekhyun was trying to change the subject, “I know, baby.”

“He… I was a foster child, and… and Junmyeon’s family adopted me when I was ten. So, we… Jun and I moved out after a few years to work because… I wasn’t smart enough to go to college like him.. and I met someone.”

“Hey,” Chanyeol cooed, “You are smart enough to do anything you want. If you want to go to school then you’re going to go back to school.”

Baekhyun laughed, and it sounded so wet but it was a happy sound, “Don’t talk until I’m done or I’ll start crying, because I love you.”

Chanyeol only smiled huge, but closed his mouth, pressing his nose into Baekhyun's hair instead.

“Anyways… Junmyeon never liked him, but me and Jun… never really got close until we were older, so I didn’t really care about his opinion - you know?

Youngmin was just… really nice, really sweet at first, and I was naive, and he was older and had his own place, and… I never really thought things through, I missed all the signs that Junmyeon and Minseok noticed… I was weak.”

Chanyeol curled his mouth up with a need to respond, but instead made his disagreement known with a peck to Baekhyun's brow.

“Pretty much as soon as I started hanging around all the time, he changed. It started small, like… he got really jealous when his friends were around and said… that I was being a whore, that I was putting out - b-but I wasn’t, I thought I loved him.”

“Shh, I know, baby. You have a lot of love to give.” Chanyeol soothed at the first sign of his voice shaking, unable to listen to Baekhyun's request when he already sounded like he was crying.

Baekhyun only scooter closer, if it was even possible, pressing his thighs into Chanyeol's lap. “He… really didn’t like me after a while, but he said he did - he said that he was teaching me better… that he wouldn’t settle unless I was perfect and… I wanted to be with him so badly, so I just let it happen… I just let him do what he wanted, let him pull my hair and hit me… because he said he loved me after.”

Chanyeol suddenly felt like throwing up, but in the back of his mind he had known. Ever since his phone call with Junmyeon he had been pushing it into the back of his mind even though Baekhyun used to flinch when Chanyeol's skin brushed him.

Not anymore. Not at all anymore, but it had at one point, which meant Baekhyun at a time hadn’t trusted him - and Chanyeol knew he couldn’t help it, but it still hurt Baekhyun had been afraid of him even to some degree for a month or two.

“That’s not love.” Chanyeol whispered heartbreakingly, “What I feel for you is love, what we have is love, baby. I wouldn’t allow you to ever feel pain, and you’re perfect the way you are, and I love you.”

“I know.” Baekhyun sniffed, “I know now. And I knew then… but it just felt so nice to hear that he loved me, even though I knew it wasn’t true…

I pushed the thoughts away until I realized- was forced to realize that this wasn’t the life I wanted… for the twins. I… I don’t even remember what the fight was about, but I hit my head and then I woke up and I was in an ambulance and the police were arresting him… and they told me I was pregnant when I got some labs done.. I couldn’t do it… I just left, I was gone, because I was scared for them.”

“You did the right thing.” Chanyeol stated immediately, hands clenched purely because he couldn’t picture Baekhyun in that situation to begin with, Baekhyun who he swore was the sweetest person alive.

“Today.” Baekhyun muttered, sounding slightly less upset as he moved into a more comfortable position at Chanyeol's collarbone, “My boss… he was being so horrible, and then he told me to go in his office for something and I just… I took the chance to ask about a raise, because you said I deserved it, and I think I really deserved it too.”

Chanyeol grinned at the last part, rubbing his arm, “You do.”

“Guess what he said?”

“He told you no?” Chanyeol asked softly.

Baekhyun laughed, a humorless laugh and shook his head, turning to look at Chanyeol, “He was always a fucking perve, but he insinuated if I did sexual favors then maybe, well, that’s basically what he said. I screamed at him, and he grabbed me and I exploded. As if I’d ever do shit with that fucking son of a bitch, disgusting.”

Chanyeol was moving Baekhyun off his lap as soon as Baekhyun's lips were curling up angrily, and then he was pacing, “Baek - fuck, Baekhyun, I’ll go beat the fucking hell out of him. Tell me right now and I’ll do it.”

Chanyeol was so mad his hands were curling in his own hair because he really did want to go over there, wanted to do badly for the man even propositioning Baekhyun like that.

Hell, if Baekhyun would have even said he was uncomfortable and that was it then Chanyeol would probably go scream at the man what the fuck his deal was.

“It’s not worth it.” Baekhyun whispered, Chanyeol could hear him getting off the couch and felt his arms wrapping around his waist, “I just want you to be with me, and… to kiss my arm better.”

Chanyeol completely forgot Baekhyun said he was grabbed until that moment, immediately turning around and rolling both his sleeves up.

Sure enough, around his thin wrist was a wrapping bruise, Chanyeol would usually be mad Baekhyun had waited so long to tell him, but knew if he would have told him outside the motel the man would be dead right now.

“You aren’t working anymore.” Chanyeol requested softly, pressing kisses all over his wrist to his knuckles, “Not even the diner, it’s too late for you to be out, I’m really afraid, Baekhyun. You understand that, don’t you? I don’t want you to be keeping any more secrets. If someone makes you uncomfortable you tell me.”

“I… I don’t like the diner anyways.” Baekhyun whispered, “It’s really dark out sometimes, Jongin didn’t like when we walked home.”

Chanyeol knew Baekhyun wasn’t telling him everything, but he was relying on him, and that was way more than Chanyeol was asking for.


	10. Last Secret

Baekhyun was happy to get a bit of a break from the twins, he was sure Chanyeol was happy about it too, even if when he asked the man firmly denied it.

But they were going to pick up the twins later tonight, and since Baekhyun was trying not to think about what he was going to do now that he had no jobs - Minseok sounded so happy when Baekhyun called and said he quit the diner, probably because he was sure Minseok stayed only so they could work together.

Baekhyun didn't know what he was going to do other than file for unemployment, and receive benefits that would maybe help him pay for rent.

In the meantime, he was lucky he had just sent this month's rent so he had a few weeks to think about things before he needed to get more money together.

“Let’s go get clothes and then I want to take you to lunch.”

Baekhyun laughed softly at the strong arms trapping him against the counter where he was waiting for his coffee to be done, turning around to wrap his arms around Chanyeol's neck. “Since you insist.”

Chanyeol hummed, voice deeper after just waking up, one of his hands coming to rest on the back of Baekhyun's exposed thigh, “You can’t get any cuter, can you? So cute.”

Smiling, Baekhyun only ducked his head shyly, fitting himself to hide in Chanyeol's chest, cheek resting on his bare chest, “Says you, you’re my boyfriend, you have to say that.”

“Yes, says me - your boyfriend who loves you to death and is extremely biased.” Chanyeol growled, pressing a bunch of kisses to Baekhyun's ear until he got a response of squealing laughter and scrunched shoulders.

“Extremely biased.” Baekhyun giggled, standing on his toes for a kiss.

Chanyeol hummed in agreement, kissing at his Cupid’s bow, “Get some pants on, my tiny boyfriend.” He teased, resting his fingertips on Baekhyun's boxers, “I’m hungry.”

“I’m average size, you’re just a giant.” Baekhyun argued.

“Tell me that again when I’m carrying you over my shoulder.” Chanyeol pinched Baekhyun's cheek in punctuation and the smaller man knew his eyes must have lit up at the joke because Chanyeol was walking away with a dark smirk.

***  
  


Chanyeol was legitimately freaked out going to Baekhyun's apartment.

Not because he was worried about his car, or he was worried about getting robbed, nothing like that, but because he simply thought Baekhyun and the twins deserved so much better.

“Was that always like that?” He asked with a hand on Baekhyun's spine as they walked up the stairs, pointing to his neighbors door that had a hole missing as if someone kicked it in.

“I don’t know.” Baekhyun replied, obviously not caring as much as Chanyeol did about it.

Chanyeol only chewed his lip, patting the curve of Baekhyun's lower back as he waited for him to unlock the door.

“Should I get the babies some things?” Baekhyun asked as he let them in, not bothering to look at anything and heading straight across the tiny room to the twins room where Chanyeol knew he kept all his clothes.

“Of course, you said you’d give me some of their clothes to keep at home anyways.” Chanyeol called back, turning to look at the wall beside him.

There weren’t a lot of pictures of Baekhyun here, and he thought it was a huge shame because Baekhyun was gorgeous.

Chanyeol knew he was pretty self conscious though, but that didn’t stop him from having a picture of him and the twins as his home screen on his phone, Baekhyun had promptly squealed with a bright blush when he had noticed, and Chanyeol found that reaction completely worth it.

He went to make a move to pick up some of the twins toys to bring, but his foot crumbled something and he raised a brow as he knelt down to pick it up.

God, things were not going well for Baekhyun lately, and they haven’t for a while, but Chanyeol hated that it seemed he was always the one that needed to tell him.

“Baek!” He called loudly, “Hey, someone put… something under the door for you.”

It wasn’t just something, the paper was signed and stamped with eviction in all caps in red.

It didn’t make sense to Chanyeol. He knew Baekhyun struggled, but Baekhyun also worked his ass off, and there was no way this apartment was worth more than the small amount Baekhyun was making.

Then again, people would pay whatever they needed to make sure their children had a roof over their heads, so he couldn’t fault Baekhyun at all.

Not that he really thought much about it, because it gave him a reason to ask what he’d been wanting to ask for so long.

“Yeah?” Baekhyun asked, dropping the duffel bag on his shoulder onto the futon, reaching out for the paper with a confused frown.

Chanyeol passed it over reluctantly, immediately rubbing his thumb on Baekhyun's shoulder reassuringly.

Baekhyun's reaction wasn’t quite what he expected, he expected tears and surprise, but Baekhyun only read it before running an anxious hand through his hair and then his face was turning red like he was so extremely embarrassed.

He didn’t have to be, Chanyeol didn’t blame him for anything or think anything about it other than that Baekhyun and the twins would be safer with him anyways.

“Yeol.” Baekhyun whispered, “I… I have to tell you something, and then… there’s no more secrets.”

Chanyeol’s face contorted in confusion, nodding and wrapping his arm around Baekhyun's waist to pull him towards his chest.

“My landlord… he raised the rent over a year ago, and I was already having a hard time, you know that. And I couldn’t make a few months rent and… I’m not a whore, okay? He never touched me, but..”

Chanyeol tried to keep his face straight and reassuring, because Baekhyun was obviously distressed and scared of his reaction, but he didn’t really want to know.

“I… he- I told him that… I was showering and I… I pretended he wasn’t there - one time, before I knew you and then a few months ago he called and I was short and he said if I would… do other things and I wouldn’t ever cheat on you - never, so I told him he was sick an-and I knew this was coming, please don’t be mad.”

Nothing ever was easy for Baekhyun, and Chanyeol wanted it to be so bad.

And he knew Baekhyun's first thoughts were always about the twins, so he did what he thought would protect them, and Chanyeol wasn’t mad about that.

It was just that these men seemed to think since Baekhyun was pretty and since he was small and had something to hang over him that they could manipulate him. And that was what pissed him off so much.

Chanyeol was only collecting his thoughts, but Baekhyun was growing shaky and teary eyed, taking his jacket between his hands with white knuckles.

“Baekhyun.” He sighed, removing the hands from his jacket to hold them in his, “I want you and the twins to move in with me. I want to see you guys everyday, and know you’re safe and that nobody is trying to take advantage of you.”

Baekhyun smiled shakily, his bottom lip slightly wobbling before he was hugging Chanyeol tightly, “You’re not mad? I’m not a whore, Chanyeol.”

“You’re not, baby. I know you aren’t. I’m not mad at you.” Chanyeol sighed, kneeling slightly to be level with him, “I love you, you did what you had to do, and I’m mad that… so many people want to take advantage of you, so I want all of you safe with me - I have for a while now.”

Baekhyun still hadn’t responded, but was looking at him so lovingly that Chanyeol couldn't really re-ask him.

“I… do… do you think my things would fit in the car?”

Chanyeol released his breath he hadn’t realized he was holding, “We could probably get everything back before going to get the twins.”

“Okay.” Baekhyun mumbled as a small smile played on his lips, “I… want you to take care of us, Chanyeol.”

And that was the truth, Chanyeol had been trying for so long to work his way in, to provide, and Baekhyun had always tried to brush him off.

But now, it was all he really wanted.

Chanyeol looked near tears this time, pressing a kiss to his temple before smoothing out his curls, “I’ll order us pizza for lunch, baby. Do you have bags? I can run to the store on the corner.”

“I have them.” Baekhyun muttered, turning to pull a picture off the wall, “There are totes in the twins closet.”

***

“So, I’m thinking…” Chanyeol began with a groan, dropping the last tote into the living room.

There weren’t very many to begin with, and it was mostly baby clothes and toys, so not really heavy either, but Chanyeol had passed the easier things off to Baekhyun such as clearing out what little was in his fridge because he was worried he would hurt himself.

Baekhyun had thrown a mini fit at that, mostly pointing and claiming he was very strong even for being thin, which they both knew had been a lie, but he was cute so Chanyeol only cooed at him.

“The guest room down the hall can be the twins room, and the one to the right can be yours… it’s a little bigger, so -“

Baekhyun turned around with a slight frown, suddenly looking worried as he leaned across the island to grab at a half empty gallon of milk to put away, “You don’t… want me with you? I mean, it’s your choice, of course, I just thought… we’re together and living together… so, you know…”

Chanyeol felt the smile on his face expand hugely, sitting on the carpet to start pulling out some pictures because he definitely wanted the twins everywhere, just as Baekhyun had originally had it, “I wasn’t sure if you would want that. You know… you never really had any space, so I figured you would probably want some.”

“I don’t want space from you.” Baekhyun explained softly, “I appreciate it, but… if- if you don’t mind then I want to be with you. Like… a family.”

At this rate, Chanyeol was going to pass out, and it wasn’t from exhaustion. “Like a family. Of course, baby. I would be really happy if you shared a room with me.”

Baekhyun grinned so shyly, Chanyeol didn’t even have it in him to tease him when he looked so happy.

“Can… the twins have the bigger room then? Since… you said you wanted… you know.”

Baekhyun was pretty embarrassed about Chanyeol buying them things, but he was way more laid back when Chanyeol had suggested just leaving the furniture behind because, one, he didn’t have a truck and they both agreed to get Baekhyun and the twins things out as soon as possible, and two, because the twins - mainly Jongin - were getting too big to be sharing a single toddler bed.

Plus, Chanyeol wanted them to have a really nice room, one that screamed they loved it, one that had decals everywhere of their favorite superheroes and had a toy box stuffed to the top. He didn’t tell Baekhyun his picture, but requested that he be able to make their room, and Baekhyun hadn’t disagreed, just sent him a warning pout like he knew what he was doing.

His boyfriend did look pretty happy once they, mostly Chanyeol, had dragged the furniture downstairs - which was only the futon, the twins bed, and then a small tabletop that Chanyeol had honestly never noticed because it was usually full of papers Baekhyun didn’t want the twins messing with.

They had left the furniture downstairs for only thirty minutes and Chanyeol wasn’t surprised in the least when they went to bring the last few things to the car and the furniture was gone, Baekhyun didn’t either, so Chanyeol knew he too was very aware of how risky the area was.

“Why are you so nervous? Of course they can have the big room, they could have both rooms for all I care, I’m just happy you guys will be here.” Chanyeol soothed, standing from the floor to seat himself at the island and watch Baekhyun organizing the fridge, “This isn’t going to be… what you might think it is, baby.

We aren’t roommates, we’re a couple, and I love you three so much. I’m going to make sure the fridge is full and that you have everything you guys need, including funds - don’t argue, I want to be sure that I know if an emergency happens, or even if you are craving something, that you have the money to get it.”

Chanyeol saw Baekhyun's shoulders relax, and knew he had been worrying about such things; he was relieved that Baekhyun seemed calmed by verbalizing such a huge step in their relationship when he knew just nine months ago Baekhyun looked near screaming when he bought a sandwich for him.

“So, that being said, you said you wanted me to take care of you guys, and god knows I’ve been wanting to for so long. You’re going to be spoiled and treated right, baby. And you’re going to rest up and be healthy, and the twins are going to go to a school we both approve of… and if you think it might be helpful, Kyungsoo will get some speech therapy, and we’re going to be sweet to each other - like we always have been, because we love each other so much, right?”

Baekhyun didn’t have to think about his words, and was already smiling with watery eyes and walking around the island to stand between Chanyeol's legs, pressing their foreheads together and sniffing back tears, pressing a rather wet kiss to the corner of Chanyeol's mouth.

“You know, you… say things in a way that I used to… not want to get my hopes up.” Baekhyun mumbled against his cheek, nuzzling their hair together.

Chanyeol chuckled slightly, running palms up and down his hips, “And now?”

“Now… I know it’s because you love us, and we… we were meant to be, Chanyeol. And I think that I don’t deserve you, and I never can, but… I can't ever get over you, because I love you so much. And… and… I’m just really happy you knocked me down and stole my phone so long ago.”

Chanyeol burst into laughter at that despite Baekhyun's happy tears and pressed a kiss to his lips before tickling his side playfully, “You know me, can't help stealing pretty boys phones, gorgeous. It’s part of my charm.”

Baekhyun blessed him with a bunch of loud giggles and then reassuring kisses, and Chanyeol didn’t think his home felt so lonely anymore.

In fact, as soon as he picked up the twins, he didn’t think that it ever would again.

And, for once, he was so, genuinely happy.


	11. Toddler Proof

_“Dude, you’re living together, but you’re still telling me I can’t come see the twins! What the fuck!”_

“Okay, first of all, watch your mouth, you’re on speaker.” Chanyeol demanded, sitting on the floor in the twins semi empty room and trying to put together their new beds, one down, one to go, “Secondly, I told you that once they were settled we were going to have a get together - give us some time, okay? This is a lot of change for us, don’t put pressure on us.” 

Chanyeol heard a rather aggressive, angry whine from Sehun and snorted, _“Yeol, dude, this is unfair, I bet you’re letting Jongdae see them, huh? You’re playing favorites! Jongin said uncle Dae before uncle Hunnie and that’s fucking rude!”_

“He's not even three yet.” Chanyeol pointed out with a roll of his eyes, “And secondly, don’t go having them call you uncle, we haven’t… discussed things like that.” 

_“Like what? How you want to be their daddy. Yeol, it’s obvious, Baekhyun isn’t stupid.”_

Chanyeol hissed at that, turning to grab his phone and take it off speaker, “Sehun, I’m beating the shit out of you if Baekhyun heard that, I swear to god - for that, I’m so not inviting you when we decide a date.” 

With a nervous breath, Chanyeol hung up on him and ran a hand across his face, taking a second to listen down the hall- only hearing shuffling of small feet near, probably one of the twins coming to peek in while Baekhyun toddler proofed things.

There wasn’t much that needed to be toddler proofed, but the twins hadn’t ever seen a television so big, and the cords were laying pretty low so Baekhyun had immediately, and anxiously, used electrical tape to stick them behind the bookshelf and out of little hands. 

Similar things Baekhyun had immediately been doing such as moving Chanyeol knife rack onto the top of the fridge, even things Chanyeol felt stupid for not considering such as getting child safety locks for the bottom cabinets in the kitchen and the decorative case in the dining room.

Baekhyun had even put up the one baby gate he had to block off Chanyeol's office until they could get a locking doorknob for it; Chanyeol honestly didn’t mind if the twins ran amok in his office, but Baekhyun seemed so adamant about blocking and moving things he probably thought were more important than they were that Chanyeol didn’t say a thing. 

Importance, or that he probably thought things looked expensive, Chanyeol didn’t really care about material items to begin with, the twins and Baekhyun being happy was way more important that a few accidents he knew the twins were bound to have - they were only toddlers after all, he wouldn’t expect any differently.

Baekhyun was being so anxious about it he didn’t have the heart to interrupt his baby proofing rampage though.

“Loel.” 

“Hey, my love, did you come to see your new room?” Chanyeol cooed, pushing the second bed to the light blue wall, “Come on, let’s see.” 

Jongin smiled shyly, like he wasn’t sure it was okay, and walked around the totes Baekhyun and Chanyeol hadn’t unpacked yet to climb onto the new mattress Chanyeol patted.

“You like it? We’re going to look on the computer later and find some pictures my two favorite boys like and put them all over your room, it will be really pretty - and maybe we’ll get some hanging lights, and a toy chest, we’ll see what mommy likes.” 

Chanyeol thought seeing Baekhyun's face when he started clearing out his own dresser to make room for his small amounts of clothes - Chanyeol was going to fix that soon - was endearing, but Jongin looked so excited even though the room was still very empty, only having the two black framed beds, two small side tables, and a dresser inside. 

“I think we should get you guys a couple of soft chairs too, and maybe a desk, so you guys can color. Maybe mommy will let us put one in, what do you think, Nini?” 

Jongin was busy leaning over the side of the bed to look at the matching avenger bed sets Chanyeol had chosen and turned with an amazed look, nodding frantically. “Me and Soo’s room, weally pretty.” 

Chanyeol tsked with a soothing coo as he noticed the toddlers teary eyes, worked up even though Jongin himself probably didn’t understand anything other than that he was getting things he had never got before.

And the twins were always so good, never asking for more than what they were given, never asking Baekhyun for anything when they went to the store - things Chanyeol knew children usually did, he knew for a fact his niece had the worst of tantrums when she was their age about wanting treats or being picky about food, but the twins never really did. 

They knew way more than Chanyeol had originally figured two babies would know, and he didn’t really think it was a bad thing as it had made things probably a whole lot easier for Baekhyun, but he knew they were going to get overwhelmed at all their options now, at all the things they could and would get for them now.

Baekhyun had done a fantastic, truly amazing job raising two very sweet, kind, good little boys, but Chanyeol wanted a turn, fully knowing that he and Baekhyun had yet to have that conversation, but at this point he was a huge part of their lives, and to ask for more was selfish, but Chanyeol never claimed he wasn’t the least bit selfish.

Sehun had been right though, there was no way Baekhyun hadn’t noticed what he wanted, and, sure, they teased each other a lot about acting like a married pair and about the kids- things he knew only a pair of parents would find amusing, but they hadn’t had a serious conversation about it, and Chanyeol didn’t want to bring it up and make Baekhyun feel obligated to let him have his way.

Because the truth was that these weren’t his kids, not by blood at least, but he loved them like they were, and he wanted them to be so bad, but these were Baekhyun's kids by blood, by everything, and it was Baekhyun's choice how important Chanyeol should be to them, and when to draw the line.

He had yet to though, and that was probably why Chanyeol continued on. If anything, Baekhyun just watched if Chanyeol scolded the twins, or if he worried about something, if he was playing with them, but he had never been able to read what Baekhyun was thinking - but Baekhyun had also never told him he was overstepping even though he had many chances on a daily basis to. 

Chanyeol knew Baekhyun didn’t like confrontation, but if he really didn’t like something, especially if it had to do with the twins, he knew Baekhyun wasn’t afraid to call someone out on it. He had even seen Baekhyun send the rudest of glares at a woman who gave him a judgmental look when Jongin had fallen off the swing and cried very loud. Baekhyun would do anything for the twins, and Chanyeol would too.

He just hoped Baekhyun approved of that.

“Yeah, buddy, very pretty.” Chanyeol smiled, pulling Jongin into his chest and running a hand down his back to calm down the watery eyes he was being given, “You want to help? You would help me and mommy a lot if you took the clothes out of the bags, just put them on the bed, okay? Can you do that?” 

Jongin nodded immediately, a determined look on his face as he scurried off the bed to the trash bag that was easily three times his size, “got it.” 

Chanyeol snorted and nodded as he stood up, “I know, sweetheart. Such a good boy, don’t close the door, okay? We want to be able to hear you, I’m going to go check on your brother and mommy.” 

“ ‘Kay.” Jongin replied distractedly, already running back and forth and patting each folded clothes he set on the bed. 

Chanyeol knew his stare was much too fond, but he couldn’t help it. Turning to shove the door block under the door to keep it open just in case, and stretching as he walked down the hall.

Baekhyun was seated on the floor, putting some child locks on the entertainment center and, again, Chanyeol hadn’t thought about such things, figuring the twins wouldn’t really care enough to touch things, but at the same time - they were toddlers, they were smart, but they were curious.

“Loey!” 

Chanyeol laughed at the exclamation, Kyungsoo's wide eyes popping over the back of the couch with a little jump on the cushion, “Hey, baby, what are you doing?” 

The toddler grinned huge, pulling his toy up to his cheek, “Scwump me tv!” 

“Yeah? What are you two watching?” Chanyeol inquired, pressing a kiss to his chubby cheek and walking towards the kitchen.

“Uh- uh…” Kyungsoo scrunched his forehead up, “I sank… paw trol.” 

“Paw Patrol.” Baekhyun mumbled distractedly.

“Paw P’trol!” Kyungsoo corrected with a pretty smile, throwing himself on his stomach to watch Chanyeol. 

“Oh, how fun, the firefighter one is my favorite.” Chanyeol answered, digging in the fridge, “Are you hungry? Do you want me to start dinner?” 

Kyungsoo hummed an acknowledging sound, but Chanyeol had to turn to look at the small shake of his head, the toddler already distracted by the show and making Chanyeol, again, smile fondly.

“I was going to cook.” Baekhyun muttered, Chanyeol hummed and heard the chair at the island pull out as he grabbed the container of tea to pour himself, and now Baekhyun, a glass.

“You…” Chanyeol started, turning around to give him a glass, cupping the side of his face to press a kiss to his cheekbone, “Are going to sit down and use my laptop to find things for the twins room, and whatever else you want.” 

Baekhyun pouted his lips, only making Chanyeol press a firm kiss to his mouth, “Yeollie, they don’t need anything else, a bed and a room is enough.” 

Groaning in fake exasperation, Chanyeol dug his nose into Baekhyun's neck until he heard a laugh before pulling away with a playful roll of his eyes, “Either you do it or I do it, and I assure you, you’ll be more upset if I do it and buy the whole store, Baek.” 

“I love you and dislike you at the same time, is that possible?” Baekhyun whined, stretching across the counter and watching Chanyeol's back as he pulled a pack of meat out.

“Of course, like right now I’m both offended and proud to hear those words.” 

Baekhyun snickered in such a loud way Chanyeol didn’t have to turn around to know his nose was scrunched up in amusement and he was unintentionally chewing his lip to keep his giggles away.

“Where’s Jongin?” Baekhyun muttered a few seconds later.

“He's being a helper and pulling their clothes out so we can put them up later.” Chanyeol answered, moving his cutting board and meat to the counter so he could see Baekhyun as he cut it up. 

“Hm, I should go do that.” 

“You should be laying down and relaxing.” Chanyeol corrected softly, “Did you even eat lunch, baby? You look pale, do you feel okay?” 

Baekhyun swished his mouth around like he was thinking before leaning forward, avoiding eye contact, “I had… a bit of a headache, I thought I was hungry so I ate something, but it still hurts a little. And then my mouth was… kind of hurting, a little sore.” 

Chanyeol was dropping his knife onto the board and immediately fixing him with a worried look, feeling bad when Baekhyun looked embarrassed.

“I… didn’t want to worry you.” 

“Baek,” Chanyeol sighed, washing his hands quickly and hastily drying them on his shirt to feel his forehead, “I know you don’t feel that great, and you get tired pretty often, but I think we need to get you to the doctors, just for a check up. When’s the last time you’ve gone?” 

Baekhyun avoided his eyes and Chanyeol knew he wasn’t going to like the answer, “When… I think the last I went to have the twins, so… a long time.” 

“Baby, my love.” The taller soothed a hand down the side of his neck, “We need to get you in, we need to make sure you’re healthy everywhere. What about… you know, what if it’s an issue with your.. reproductive system.” 

Chanyeol knew it was a weird thing to say, but Baekhyun was gifted with the ability, and he also knew that usually males would go in to make sure everything was functioning properly every few months because his assistant used to request a day off every few months for it, and Chanyeol cared about peoples health very much so he always gave it to him.

Baekhyun had already had children though, so maybe he wasn’t worried about it, and Chanyeol wasn’t worried about whether he could have more children or not - that definitely wasn’t something he needed to be hopeful for right now - but there were a lot of issues with male reproductive systems that could cause them a lot of pain and that was the last thing Chanyeol wanted.

“I didn’t want to bother you.” Baekhyun sighed, reaching to lay his hand over Chanyeol's on his neck.

“I’ll make an appointment, is that okay?” Chanyeol murmured, “Sehun was just begging me to see the kids, him and his boyfriend can watch them for a few hours, or we can take them to Junmyeon. Whatever you feel more comfortable with, but I’m going to try to get you in whatever time is available.” 

“Okay.” Baekhyun whispered, pulling his hand from his skin to kiss his knuckles, “Sehun is fine, Luhan was it? His boyfriend, right? I remember him saying something.” 

Chanyeol laughed quietly, “Yeah, he's really nice and friends with Yifans boyfriend. Sehun might be very vulgar and come off as strong, but he is a good person, and he really loves Luhan. He’ll be really happy to watch them for us.” 

Baekhyun hummed softly in response, downing his tea before rubbing his eyes. “Where’s your laptop?” 

Smiling, Chanyeol pressed a lasting kiss to his head, “Should be on the bookshelf, my wallet is on the dresser in our room. Go crazy.” 

“Yeol.” Baekhyun rolled his eyes with a laugh.

“I mean it!” Chanyeol cried dramatically, “I want things for you in that cart, and I want paw patrol and spaceships and all the heroes the twins like. Get yourself whatever you want - get yourself a computer so we can sign you up for online classes, I’m not kidding, I want that cart bordering on maximum items.” 

Baekhyun only laughed, eyes turning slightly red as well as the blush on his cheeks, and Chanyeol knew it wasn’t likely his requests would be taken seriously even though he was serious and Baekhyun knew so too, but Baekhyun was still walking over to grab his laptop. 

So, Chanyeol thought that was a win.


	12. Labs & Loyalty

Chanyeol had gotten an appointment very fast, so fast that the items Baekhyun had ordered hadn’t even arrived yet.

Baekhyun used to have to wait hours in the clinic if he even had an appointment, but, then again, Chanyeol lived on a completely different side of town than he used to, so the hospital they were going to was very different.

Not that the one Baekhyun used to go to was bad, but it wasn’t… this, and somehow he felt nervous even though it was only a hospital and he wasn’t afraid of getting medical help.

He just told himself it was probably because the last few times he had gone for himself hadn’t been the greatest of experiences, and that maybe he was nervous leaving Sehun to watch the twins - which wasn’t really true, the toddlers had been so excited to see him and hadn’t even noticed him and Chanyeol slip out.

“Here.” Chanyeol murmured, taking a seat and handing over a clipboard, “She said to just fill out the top part and sign the bottom.”

Baekhyun nodded with a bite in his lip, overlooking the entire section asking for insurance because he didn’t have any, what little benefits he had working at the motel hadn’t really helped anyways.

“Nervous?” His boyfriend asked, wrapping his arm around Baekhyun's shoulders, “Don't be, baby. We’re just making sure you’re okay, and then we’ll go home and finish settling.”

“Okay.” Baekhyun muttered, he would deny his hands were shaky as he snapped the pen back into the holder on the clipboard.

“I was thinking…” Chanyeol added then, a tone Baekhyun was familiar with when he was about to say something incredibly thoughtful, but wasn’t sure how Baekhyun would take it, “We might also have to get the twins in for checkups,some preschools want proof of shots.”

“They had their shots already, the daycare made us get them.” Baekhyun muttered softly, earning a kiss to his hair.

Medical appointments were expensive, and Baekhyun still to a certain degree felt like he was overstepping, because he knew Chanyeol never expected him to pay for anything he suggested, and Baekhyun really couldn’t afford it even if he wanted to.

The most he had ever bought for Chanyeol was when he and the twins were having an extremely good day and he had gotten a big tip from the diner and had bought them all fast food, he had it all ready for when Chanyeol showed up at his apartment for a late night date, and even then Chanyeol was so touched, but looked like he wished he wouldn’t have done that.

Baekhyun didn’t feel that great knowing that Chanyeol was extremely wealthy, way more than Baekhyun could ever imagine, and he was actually so smart and good with money. Both things Baekhyun also thought he wasn’t, because he did want things too, he did give into temptation knowing that he couldn’t afford things or that the money would have been way better elsewhere.

But… sometimes he just wanted to see the twins look happy to get a new toy, or he wanted a new jacket that wasn’t on it's last strand.

So he also really, really was thankful for Chanyeol even if he didn’t often make use of the things the man offered to them.

It wasn’t because he was afraid Chanyeol would hold things over him, or that he thought Chanyeol would be upset, or use money as a manipulative means - if that were the case and Baekhyun had even the smallest bit of belief in these statements then he would have moved in with Junmyeon and Minseok, not Chanyeol.

But the truth was he just didn’t want to seem spoiled for wanting too many things, and he did want things, more than he allowed his eyes to linger.

The other truth was that he loved Chanyeol and he thought they were perfect together. The twins loved him, they cried when Baekhyun would take them home after work if they didn’t get to see Chanyeol that day, and Chanyeol loved them so much too. He didn’t really seem to think anything of the fact they weren’t his blood, and Baekhyun was highly aware that Chanyeol wanted something more, that he had intentionally worked his way into a parental figure for them.

But he didn’t really find anything wrong with that.

Chanyeol wanted to parent them despite the looming fact that they weren’t his, and they genetically would never be, and that was something Baekhyun had always been scared of - to have a partner that cared little for the twins or that only liked him, but didn’t accept the babies.

Family wasn’t always genetic, Baekhyun knew that better than anyone as a foster child.

Junmyeon was his brother by law, but he was more his brother by Baekhyun's choice, as they didn’t speak to their parents anymore, but Baekhyun still wanted Junmyeon in his and the twins life.

And Chanyeol was definitely family, Baekhyun couldn't picture ever loving someone else or being loved by someone else ever again. Not when he was shown what real love entailed and how different it was to the illusion he had been told was love.

Being scared wasn’t love, bruises weren’t love, and insults that had Baekhyun on his knees in tears were not love.

And he knew that, finally.

“There’s a school around the corner, Kyungsoo liked the colors when we went on a walk yesterday.” Baekhyun revealed.

“Yeah? We’ll drive by on the way home and look at the name and we can do some research. It’d be nice if they were so close to our apartment. Junmyeons house isn't too far away and neither are Yixing or Yifan’s if we ever needed them to get them, that’d be good.”

Baekhyun smiled with a nod, he had only met the two a handful of times, Yixing was very nice to him, and Yifan had a huge scowl, but he was actually very soft as soon as he saw the twins, so Baekhyun thought they were nice. And if Chanyeol trusted them, then he didn’t have to think twice about it.

“Byun Baekhyun?”

Baekhyun was suddenly reminded of the reason they were here in the first place, nervously passing off his completed form to the front desk clerk before following the doctor down the hall, Chanyeol's hand reassuring on his spine.

“Hello, I am Dr. Shin.” The man uttered with a small smile, giving Baekhyun a second to settle on the table.

“Hello,” Baekhyun replied softly, “Byun Baekhyun, and this is my partner Park Chanyeol.” He added, vaguely motioning to Chanyeol who was smiling kindly, mainly just looking at Baekhyun to make sure he was okay.

“It's always good to bring someone else to remember things, four ears instead of two.” The doctor smiled, nodding in approval before taking a seat at the computer to the side, typing. “So, let’s see… it says the reason for your visit is due to… fatigue? Can you tell me a little more?”

Baekhyun chewed his lip at that, he hadn’t actually asked Chanyeol what he claimed the reason was for, “I’m… I’ve been getting headaches, and I sleep a lot recently.”

The doctor hummed in acknowledgement, climbing to his feet to grab his stethoscope, “I’m just going to listen to your breathing, normal breathing, you sound a bit.. breathy. Can you tell me how long you’ve been getting headaches? Sorry, it’s cold.”

“On and off for… a few years, it’s not too bad it just feels like… I need to sleep, like I hadn’t gotten enough.” Baekhyun murmured, feeling slightly bad he hadn’t gotten around to telling details to Chanyeol. But his boyfriend always seemed to know more than he led on anyways.

“Yeah, your breathing is a little short, hm….” Dr. Shin clicked his tongue for a moment in thought before turning to a wall of tools, “I’m going to check your mouth, and then your eyes really quickly.”

“He mentioned a soreness a few days ago.” Chanyeol added, leaning over to place his elbows on his knees, “That his mouth was sore.”

“Ah, that is very interesting, often our partners see more than we realize, do you have anything else to add?”

Baekhyun was more relieved when Chanyeol was talking, mostly because he always thought it was nerve racking when doctors looked him over and would do a slight tilt in their head without mentioning a thing until the very end.

“He's a little shaky sometimes, and I’ve seen some swaying, I was always worried he was going to pass out.” Chanyeol answered.

The doctor turned his head up slightly as he shined a light in Baekhyun's eyes before turning to hang his instrument up and going back to the computer, “Are you afraid of needles?” He asked after a few nerve racking seconds of silence.

“No.” Baekhyun murmured, turning on the table to hold Chanyeol's hand in his lap nervously.

“Okay, good.” The doctor started typing, “So. I want to get a blood sample, the results will be sent in the mail along with any other information and recommendations. Don’t worry about it too much, it’s more of a precaution as there was a bit of paling to your eyes and mouth, which suggests a deficiency.

Now, I know this might be a difficult topic, but how are your eating habits? And it says in here that you are a carrier, so have you been having any pain in your mid section.”

“I…” Baekhyun stuttered a little, “I guess… in the past not so good, but recently it’s been a lot better, I’m eating normal meals and a lot of meat.”

“In the past.” Chanyeol murmured, rubbing his thumb over his hand softly, “He had some issues with proper nutrition, but we’re working on it, he’s gained at least ten pounds in a little less than a year, so I think that’s progress.”

“Certainly progress.” The doctor agreed, “He’s still… according to the information he provided it looks like he is still fairly underweight, but it sounds like it’s something that’s been acknowledged and is being addressed, so you are one step ahead of my things to mention. Anyways, you have children? It says you checked yes, so there are some good things about that.”

“Yes, twins.” Baekhyun said with a small smile, “And I haven’t had any pain.”

“Usually, when men have already had children it puts them at lower risk compared to women for uterus issues, cysts, etcetera, so unless you start feeling any soreness or pain then I am not placing it on possible causes for your discomfort, okay? Anything else to add?”

Baekhyun saw Chanyeol smile in relief at the information, and laughed slightly too, just because he thought he was cute. “No, thank you.”

“No problem, sweetie, we’ll figure out what’s wrong. I’ll go get you a nurse to take some samples and then we’ll get those labs going right away.

Expect to get some mail within the next three to seven days, if the results are confusing or if we forgot to provide something just give us a call and we’ll sort that out for you.”

Baekhyun breathed easier as soon as the doctor walked out, and while not all of his findings were reassuring, he did feel a lot better already just knowing he would find out soon.

“Do they always mail the things?” Baekhyun asked with a smile as Chanyeol kissed at his hands, “I think… when I had the twins they made me go pick up my prescription for painkillers, good thing I had Jun to take me.”

Chanyeol pressed his forehead to his knuckles for a second at that, and Baekhyun knew it was because he didn’t like to hear the hardships he had gone through, but at the same time Chanyeol liked to know details - even if he hated them.

“I requested it that way.” Chanyeol began after a calming breath, “I figured you would be a little stressed out about going back and forth, and I usually request it that way for myself. Plus, the hospital offers it, so might as well pay a little more to take advantage of it.”

“Is it expensive?”

“Nothing is expensive if it’s for you, don’t worry.” Chanyeol soothed, pressing another kiss to his palm, “Don't worry, baby. You won’t see a thing, okay? All you need to do is sit still and let me take care of it. See, I’ll go pay right now so you won’t see a thing and won’t have anything to feel bad about.” He added, standing to his feet.

Baekhyun whined as soon as he was going towards the door, tugging on his arm, “Yeol, I’m going to get a needle stabbed in me! Stay!”

Laughing, Chanyeol rolled his eyes, going to stand between his knees, “Thought you weren’t scared of needles.”

“That was when you were sitting there, now I’m suddenly scared.” Baekhyun argued with a pout, pressing his chin to Chanyeol's chest to look up at him.

“Oh, yes, because that’s how phobias work.” Chanyeol teased, pressing a kiss to Baekhyun's nose, “What can I do baby, fight a nurse for you?”

“You would if I needed you to.” The smaller huffed, wrapping arms around Chanyeol's hips.

“That’s right, beautiful.” Chanyeol agreed almost instantly.

  
***

“Mommy!”

“Mommy, Loel!”

“Loey!”

Chanyeol didn’t think he’d ever get used to coming home to the twins, it was so cute, and so warming.

Little legs running all the way across the room to the entryway as soon as they heard him and Baekhyun enter, and arms around his leg as they waited for him and Baekhyun to remove their shoes.

“Hello, my little prince.” Chanyeol said sweetly, scooping Kyungsoo up with one arm and walking into the living room to set their bags of food on the table.

“Hey, how’d it go? Everything okay?” Luhan asked softly, “The twins are so sweet.”

“Thank you for watching them!” Baekhyun called across the room, juggling Jongin on his front as he went to the kitchen.

Sehun snorted, “Thank you for having them!”

Chanyeol snickered at the blush Baekhyun ducked into the fridge to cover, shaking his head and sending a scolding look to Sehun. “Everything went fine, we’ll get results in the mail. You guys hungry? We brought dinner, it’s the least we could do.”

“Nah.” Sehun commented, leaning across the table to grab his phone, “We are going to Yixings house, you know he’s having a party, he really wanted you and Baekhyun to come, but we let him know you guys were preoccupied. More important things.”

Chanyeol heard Baekhyun make a confused noise at that and sighed, “Of course, I’ll catch you guys later. If you guys need a ride call us, don’t go trying to drive.”

“Got it.” Sehun nodded his head before pursing his lips and slightly pouting as he and Luhan walked towards the door, “I would say bye to the twins because I’m their favorite uncle, but they don’t seem to care - I won’t forget this.”

“They’re two.” Chanyeol snorted, “And you’re definitely not their favorite anything, get out.”

“I mean, they did let me color with them and not you…” Chanyeol heard Luhan add as the couple walked out, he snorted and locked the door behind them, bouncing Kyungsoo playfully. “Did you have fun?”

“ ‘ts fun!” Kyungsoo agreed loudly, “Seepy now.”

“Oh, yes, Sehun doesn’t know babies nap time is at three, huh? That’s okay, we can take a late nap together.” Chanyeol murmured, laying down on the couch and rubbing Kyungsoo's back as the toddler settled on his chest.

“Nigh- night.”

“Nigh- night, sweet boy” Chanyeol smiled, pressing a kiss to the crown of his head and moving his legs to give Baekhyun room when the smaller settled on the other end.

“Yeol, you know you can go to that party, right?” Baekhyun asked a few moments later, patting Jongin's back softly, “You don't… need to stay just because you think you have to, just… call if you stay late so I won’t be too worried.”

Frowning, Chanyeol held Kyungsoo to his chest as he sat up a little more, “I’m not going because I didn’t want to, sweetheart, not because I think I have to stay.”

“I just… I feel bad.” Baekhyun admitted, tangling his legs into Chanyeol's, “I know… this is probably really different than things you would usually do on the weekends, and I don’t want you to feel committed to anything. If you want to go out… do things I think that’s fine, just… call me and let me know where you are just in case.”

Chanyeol realized that maybe Baekhyun was used to thinking this way, that he probably thought Chanyeol wanted to go live it up as his shitty ex probably had, maybe he even thought Chanyeol would cheat on him too.

That wasn’t true at all, and Chanyeol knew Baekhyun hadn’t accused him of anything, but he still thought it was very obvious that he was right where he wanted to be.

“Baek, do you… you think that I’d cheat on you? That I want to go out and party and leave you and the twins here, alone?”

“I don’t… I just…” Baekhyun twisted his lip as he thought about how to phrase things before sighing, “My ex used to… like to go out, and I knew he wasn’t doing good things, but… I can deal with it, if that’s what you wanted to do then I want you to know I’m not going to be upset.”

“Baekhyun.” Chanyeol whispered slightly in disbelief, getting an annoyed noise from the dozing toddler on his chest as he sat up more to wrap a hand around Baekhyun's ankle, running his thumb across his skin reassuringly since they both had armfuls of sleepy babies. “Baby, I’m committed to you, it’s just you. I haven’t thought of another person at all, and I can’t, because I love you so, so much.

And I’m going to stay right here, where I want to be, and where I can keep an eye on you three. So don’t think about that, and don’t lie and say you don’t care because I know you do, because I know you so well, my love. I’m staying here where we can see each other all the time, okay? I don’t even like partying, I don’t like drinking, I just like watching cartoons with the twins and listening to all their stories and knowing that you guys are here and I can see you anytime.”

Baekhyun scrunched up his nose in a familiar move that meant he wanted to cry, but only nodded, pushing the curls off his forehead and moving to untangle himself, “I’m going to put Jongin up so we can cuddle.”

“Let’s do just that, baby.” Chanyeol agreed, climbing off the couch to follow, “Let’s watch something that isn’t meant for a toddler and eat all of the cookies Minseok gave us.”

Baekhyun snorted a bit too loud making Jongin whine as he leaned down to put him in bed, pulling the colorful comic book blanket up his chest, “I thought I was the devil, but I’m now convinced you are.”

Chanyeol pulled his lips into an amused smirk, trying to be quiet as he clicked on the nightlight by the door and followed behind, “We can both share the title.” He claimed, wrapping both arms around Baekhyun's hips and lifting him up playfully.

Baekhyun, as always, laughed so prettily, scrambling to wiggle but could only burst into laughing stutters of Chanyeol's name until he was being set down on the couch.

“God, I love you.” Chanyeol chuckled, laying himself down and only needing a second for Baekhyun to crawl onto his chest, laying on him not too unfamiliar to how Kyungsoo had only moments ago.

“I love you.” Baekhyun parroted, sounding slightly out of breath as he placed his hands beside Chanyeol's head and leaned down to kiss his lips, chastely before all out pressing them together.

There definitely was no place that could be better than this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think is wrong with Baekhyun? Or is he just fatigued and needs rest? 
> 
> P.S. are you guys happy I updated so much? I usually don’t update so quickly for this story!


	13. Happy Accidents

Their packages came a few days later while Chanyeol was at work, along with it was a manila package from the hospital, and Baekhyun was too scared to open it because it felt pretty thick.

“Mommy, hi!”

“Hi, baby, you want to help mommy?” Baekhyun asked quietly, carefully dragging the huge box into the living room.

Kyungsoo nodded immediately, plopping down on his bottom to slide off the couch and sit next to the box as Baekhyun opened it.

“Where’s your brother?”

The toddler hummed, staring at the television for a second and mouthing the abc’s that the show was running across the screen despite not knowing them well.

“Nini, snack.” He answered a few moments later.

Baekhyun smiled softly at that, digging in the box to pull a small bunny stuffed animal out, setting it in Kyungsoo's lap, “Look, Chanyeol got Scrump a friend.”

All at once Kyungsoo was gasping dramatically, climbing to his feet to throw a leg over the side of the couch and pull himself up.

Baekhyun snorted when he heard him introducing the two toys and sat back to dig through the huge box.

He did get a lot of the things Chanyeol had wanted him too, including decorations for the twins room, some winter clothes for them, and even a few clothing pieces for himself, but he hadn’t felt the need to get things like a laptop or things he just simply liked because he already felt like Chanyeol was doing a lot for them.

He already felt horrible about the debit card Chanyeol had given him the other day, Baekhyun's name was on it and everything, but Chanyeol had looked so happy he couldn’t refuse it.

Plus, Baekhyun was aware he had very little in his own account, and Chanyeol had looked upset that Baekhyun had gone grocery shopping with his own money - probably because Chanyeol was aware of his circumstances even if they didn’t talk about it too much.

That was a thing he really liked about Chanyeol though, that he already seemed to know before Baekhyun even had to mention anything.

Chanyeol had told him the card was just added onto his personal checking account and tried to get Baekhyun to download the bank app on his phone, but Baekhyun felt like he would pass out if he saw the amount of money he was positive was in there.

“Mommy, clowes?” Kyungsoo asked with a cute giggle, laying on his stomach on the couch and dangling his new bunny toy off the edge.

“Yes, mommy got new clothes, and babies got new clothes.” Baekhyun confirmed, “Chanyeol is so nice, so you have to give him lots of hugs and kisses when he gets home.”

Kyungsoo didn’t have to think twice before giggling and throwing a cute air kiss Baekhyun's way. Then pointing at Baekhyun, “Mommy too!”

“I will.” Baekhyun laughed, leaning over to press a rather loud kiss to Kyungsoo's cheek, “Mommy always gives the best kisses, huh?”

The toddler went to respond when a loud, shattering sound rang out and Baekhyun froze, waiting only one second before his heart was racing at Jongin's crying and he was running into the dining room.

“What are you doing - don’t move.” Baekhyun ordered with an obvious mad tone, staring at Jongin who was holding the side of the open cabinet and all around him where shattered remains of one of the pretty statues Chanyeol had collected inside.

Baekhyun felt like an idiot for missing putting the child locks on even though he specifically got them for such fragile things.

Jongin was sobbing immediately, standing barefoot in a circle of porcelain before Baekhyun was pulling him out with a scowl on his face, “Jongin, you know you’re not supposed to touch that, now you’re going in time out.”

The toddler started crying harder then, stuttering something Baekhyun couldn't even understand as his mom set him in the corner.

“Are you hurt?”

Jongin's whole face was bright red and tearful as he shook his head no.

“You stay here until I clean up your mess.” Baekhyun ordered then, pressing a hand to his hair and went to find a cloth.

Baekhyun's heart was still racing and Jongin's crying wasn’t helping at all.

“Fuck. Chanyeol gets home any second.” He cursed, kneeling down to put all of the big chunks on a napkin, “Fucking shit.”

Luckily it was all big chunks, so it wouldn’t take long.

Baekhyun chewed his lip the entire time and hoped Chanyeol wouldn’t be too mad when he got home, he didn’t think he would be, but Baekhyun also didn’t know how important these things were to Chanyeol.

“Jongin, we don’t play with Chanyeol's things.” Baekhyun began, carefully running the glass to the trash can.

“Right? I want to hear you tell me.” He added, walking over to sit on the floor beside the toddler, checking his feet.

“S-Sowy!” He sobbed, turning to latch onto Baekhyun's shirt.

Sighing, Baekhyun used his sleeve to wipe his son’s nose, “You cannot play with glass, do you understand? You could have gotten really hurt, and then we’d have to take you to the hospital. Would that be fun?”

“N-No mommy.”

“No. That’s right.” Baekhyun soothed, pulling Jongin into a hug, “Now, you’re going to be good and sit on the couch and keep your hands to yourself.”

Jongin sniffled in his ear with a loud noise, rubbing at his eyes, “ ‘Kay, mommy, I sowy.”

“I know you are.” Baekhyun murmured, standing up to carry him to the couch, “You can tell Chanyeol you're sorry when he gets home, okay? And be really good.”

Jongin nodded with his lips poking out, face still pink and still crying silently.

“You’re not in trouble.” Baekhyun added, pressing a kiss to his forehead, “I love you still, accidents happen.”

He was getting up with a sigh, going to dig in the kitchen for spare child locks and internally hitting himself for being so stupid.

Just as he was placing the magnetic locks in securely he heard the elevator outside in the hallway ding and jumped up nervously, walking into the kitchen to check the food cooking in the oven to calm his anxiety as he heard the buttons on the electronic lock outside the door.

Obviously, the kids heard too because Jongin was sniffing louder and Kyungsoo was already standing on the cushion and looking over the back of the couch with a huge smile.

Baekhyun had yelled at him not to stand on the furniture but Chanyeol thought it was cute, so Baekhyun had only rolled his eyes and told him he wouldn’t think it was cute when they were older.

And Chanyeol just gave him a winning smile and Baekhyun was too fond of the look to say anything else.

“Hello, my loves!”

Kyungsoo was squealing immediately, and Baekhyun was shyly smiling as he walked to the entranceway to wrap his arms around Chanyeol's waist.

“Hey, beautiful.” The man swooned, pressing a kiss to Baekhyun's forehead.

“Good day?” Baekhyun asked softly, standing on his toes to kiss Chanyeol's mouth.

Chanyeol hummed, cupping his cheek to kiss his lips once more, “Better now, packages came in?” He asked, walking towards the back of the couch when Baekhyun released him, “Yes, yes - I know, hi baby.” He cooed, picking Kyungsoo up over the couch.

“Yeah, from the hospital too… I didn’t want to open it until you got here.” Baekhyun murmured, reaching down to pick up a toy from the floor.

“Hm, okay we’ll see in a few - you’re not going to see me, Nini? Bad day?” Chanyeol asked with a confused look, reaching over to touch his hair.

“Nini in twouble.” Kyungsoo outed, pressing a wet kiss to Chanyeol's cheek before squirming to get down.

Chanyeol turned to Baekhyun with a raised brow.

“It was my fault.” Baekhyun wrung his hands together, “I forgot to seal one of the cabinets in the dining room, he… he broke one of your statues.”

Chanyeol looked extremely confused then, setting Kyungsoo down and leaning on the back of the couch, “Accidents happen, it’s nobody’s fault. You know better now, right, Jongin? We don’t play with things that aren’t toys because you can get hurt.”

Baekhyun sighed in relief then, unsure of what he was really expecting, but he expected Chanyeol to at least be a little upset, and he wasn’t at all.

Jongin was sniffing loud, rubbing his nose on his shirt sleeve and nodding silently.

“See.” Baekhyun whispered, rubbing over Jongin's cheek, “You go say sorry and then give hugs and kisses and it’s all better, just don’t do it again.”

“Or twouble!” Kyungsoo squeaked with a laugh, holding a cup of milk standing by the table.

“Or trouble.” Baekhyun agreed, “Don't act innocent mister, stop trying to sneak into Chanyeol's office.”

Kyungsoo gave an impish grin.

“Up…” Jongin whispered, obviously still upset and panting from crying so much, reaching over the couch for Chanyeol.

Chanyeol was scooping him up quickly and Baekhyun was positive he was weaker for the twins than him as Chanyeol was quickly cooing and wiping off his face.

“I sowy.” Jongin stuttered wetly, pressing his forehead into Chanyeol's jaw.

“It’s okay.” The man soothed, “Me and mommy would just be really upset if you got hurt, so you need to be careful.”

The toddler stuck his trembling lip out harder, nodding frantically and throwing arms around Chanyeol's neck as tight as he could. “Sowy, daddy.”

It took both adults a good minute to realize what he said before Baekhyun was positive his face was turning bright red, “I-I was talking to… to Minseok earlier… he probably.. heard him teasing. I’ll… i'll jus-“

Chanyeol just stared at him, it was so unnerving and Jongin was still sucking in deep breaths to calm down and Baekhyun had no idea if he should have Jongin rephrase his words, but he also knew Chanyeol had wanted a role like this for the twins.

He just didn’t know if the man wanted a title to match.

“Jonginnie,” Baekhyun murmured under his breath, “Baby, you… you don’t…”

He didn’t really know how to go about it, because it sounded so painful to say ‘you don’t have a daddy’ and it wasn’t really true, Chanyeol was the closest thing they’d ever had to a father… but the twins had never so much as tried to call someone that.

Sure, they asked sometimes, when they first started going to daycare they asked why their daddy didn’t pick them up too, like the other kids. But Baekhyun found it easier to brush off then, because they didn’t really understand, but now they did… a lot more than he gave them credit for.

Of course he knew the twins would begin to wonder eventually. On the television it was always mommy and daddy and they were observant, they noticed Baekhyun and Chanyeol did act like they had seen, so they connected the dots.

Not to mention just seeing so many couples with children in general, Baekhyun really knew people overlooked how smart and observant children were, and he did too.

“Baekhyun.” Chanyeol murmured then, voice low, and soft, his hand running over Jongin's back. “Is it okay?”

“What?” Baekhyun asked, unsure of what he was talking about only because Baekhyun's mind was still racing and trying to come to a not painful conclusion.

“Is that okay? Is it okay with you?” Chanyeol elaborated. “It’s whatever you want, baby. You know I love them to death, but it’s your choice.”

Finally, Baekhyun realized and laughed, leaning over his lap to press his palms to his eyes to cover the watering because he was so relieved. “Chanyeol, of course - of course, it… it would make me really happy.”

Chanyeol knew he was crying, but he could help how happy he felt as he lifted Jongin over his head, “You didn’t give daddy welcome home kisses!” He scolded playfully, highly aware his own eyes were fogging up. “So mean, Jongin! Daddy wants kisses now!”

Jongin smiled shyly, scrunching his nose and grabbing Chanyeol's face to press their noses together. “Hi, daddy.”

And Chanyeol choked, looking ridiculous as he walked around the couch to take a seat beside Baekhyun, kissing at Jongin's hair, “Kyungsoo, come here, we’re having a moment.” He urged, raising his hand out for the other toddler.

He heard Baekhyun laugh wetly at that, but Baekhyun only leaned into his side, looking just as tearful as Chanyeol felt.

“Okay!” Kyungsoo laughed, not understanding anything but that he was getting lots of cuddles.

***

“No, no, no!”

Chanyeol snorted, shaking his head as he carried Kyungsoo to bed, “Shh, Nini is asleep, baby. It’s bedtime.”

The toddler whined, but his eyes bobbing open and closed didn’t help show that he wanted to stay up.

Chanyeol pressed a kiss to his hair before laying him down and tucking him in. “Sleep, Soo. Daddy loves you, baby.”

Kyungsoo kicked his legs weakly in obvious disagreement at going to sleep, but Chanyeol only had to rub his stomach for a second and move Scrump beside his head and the toddler was already closing his eyes.

He took a second to make sure Jongin was sleeping well before quietly standing up, shutting the bedroom door and walking to his and Baekhyun's room.

Baekhyun was stepping out of the shower when he walked in, covered in a towel, and seemingly not caring at all that Chanyeol was there as he dug for clothes.

“Twins are in bed.” Chanyeol muttered, laying a warm hand between his shoulder blades for a second to kiss the back of his neck and then moving to lay down, turning on his side to watch his boyfriend.

Baekhyun only hummed and Chanyeol had half a mind to look away when the smaller turned to face him, laying his pajamas down - just boxers and Chanyeol's shirt - before undoing his towel without any care.

Chanyeol didn’t look away though, just because Baekhyun was gorgeous and the shy smile he got in response led him to believe Baekhyun knew what he was thinking anyways.

It wasn’t that he was turned on, or that he wanted to have sex with Baekhyun, he knew that the younger wanted too, but Chanyeol wanted it to be just them, to not have to worry about the kids waking up.

They could have sneaky, after the kids were asleep sex later on, but not for the first time.

“Did they give daddy lots of kisses?” Baekhyun asked with a tease in his voice, climbing onto the bed into Chanyeol's arms.

Chanyeol felt his ears redden at that and knew he was overusing the term today, but the twins sounded so excited when he said it, and he liked to hear it too.

After so long, it felt so good to be able to refer to himself as so out loud, he had barely allowed himself to refer to himself as that in his head.

And everything about the title was reassuring him that he was permanent in their lives, not that he thought otherwise, but it was still endearing.

“Mhm. Don’t tease me, babe, I’m having a good day.”

Baekhyun laughed into his neck, scratching softly at the hair at the base of his neck, “Yeah? Should I make it better?”

Chanyeol recognized the seduction in his tone and smirked, moving to push Baekhyun on his back, “Yes, actually. But I want to touch you. What do you think, gorgeous?” He cooed, pressing kisses to Baekhyun's collarbone.

“Only if next time I touch you.” Baekhyun giggled, already squirming as Chanyeol hovered to the side of him.

“I guess.” Chanyeol rolled his eyes playfully, pushing Baekhyun's shirt up and leaning down to kiss at his soft stomach.

Baekhyun's breath quickly caught, curling fingers into Chanyeol's hair, “Lube?”

Chanyeol groaned against his skin at the question, kissing at his waistband and pointing to Baekhyun's side table. “You want my fingers, babe? Fuck. I want you to ride my hand.”

The smaller made a noise akin to a needy whimper and scooted up the bed to lean over and dig in the side table drawer, quickly finding the bottle and opening it, laughing when he felt Chanyeol pulling off his boxers.

Baekhyun couldn't do much but release a muffled groan when Chanyeol was pulling him down, strong hands already separating his legs and kissing around his growing erection.

Compared to Chanyeol's size, Baekhyun's wasn’t big, but it was common for carriers to be small, tiny everywhere, and curvy - the last didn't really apply to Baekhyun right now, but in the future it might.

“Chanyeol.” He moaned, spreading his legs and bucking his hips slightly when the taller left a fleeting kiss to his tip before pushing his ankles to the back of his thighs.

“Fuck, you’re so pretty. Are you allowed to be so pretty?”

Baekhyun giggled, covering his red face in embarrassment at the question, and at Chanyeol kissing the back of his thigh, dangerously close to his hole.

Then, Chanyeol was sitting up to grab the lube Baekhyun hadn’t realized he dropped, “Feel good, beautiful? You look so pretty like this.”

Baekhyun chewed his lip at the outline he could see straining against Chanyeol's sweatpants and wanted to touch, to taste, but he really, really was invested in feeling Chanyeol's long fingers.

It made him feel accomplished to be able to affect Chanyeol like this, without even needing to touch, especially when he was aware the man had been with much prettier people, people that didn’t have stretch marks and weren’t so bony, ones that had silky skin without a c section scar on their lower stomach.

“You tell me if it’s too much.” Chanyeol murmured, pressing a sweet kiss to his knee, dry hand running over his inner thigh down to his hip, holding slightly before Baekhyun felt a cool finger pressing into him.

He moaned much louder than he should have, gasping out and reaching between his legs to still Chanyeol's hand when it settled deeply, Baekhyun wondered if it was pressing right against his womb because his hands were so big.

Much bigger than Baekhyun's own at least and it had only been him to touch there for so long.

“C-Chan - big.”

Chanyeol laughed deeply, smiling pressing to his inner knee, “You going to come like this? Can you? Just one finger, baby, you’re so sexy.”

Baekhyun whined at that, testingly moving his hips slightly before groaning and throwing his head back against the pillows, “Two.”

“You want two?” Chanyeol sounded vaguely impressed and Baekhyun smiled at the tone, moaning a loud squealing noise and internally being thankful the kids room was way down the hall, because he had never been a loud lover, but Chanyeol was also different than anything he’d ever had and was changing that quickly.

“Ngh, ah - Yeol.” Baekhyun whispered, moving slightly as Chanyeol began to finger into him, scrambling for something.

“Shh, here, hold my ha- fuck. Goddamn it, Baekhyun, you’re testing my self control.” Chanyeol growled, intending to use his unoccupied hand to hold Baekhyun's, but the smaller was placing it to his lips, sucking at his fingertips and Chanyeol knew he was just begging for him to have sex with him - and he would, soon, but not right now.

Baekhyun didn’t seem like he was going to last much longer anyways.

The smaller only laughed breathlessly, teeth scraping Chanyeol's fingertips, “You’re so good, Chanyeol - I-I’m gonna come soon, another - want two.”

“Shit.” Chanyeol cursed, pulling down one of Baekhyun's knees and throwing his own leg over it to tilt Baekhyun slightly, “You’re so sexy, baby, so pretty. So good for me.”

Baekhyun moaned harshly when Chanyeol took his hand away, now wet with his saliva to hold Baekhyun's shirt up, leaning down to kiss at his nipples, adding another finger slowly.

“You gonna come for me? Come on, sweetheart.” Chanyeol grunted at Baekhyun's thigh brushing between his legs and pulled back from his sensitive nipples with wet lips to focus on his lover's face. “Fuck, you’re a fucking angel, I swear to god, an angel. Love you, baby.”

It was probably the sweetness of Chanyeol and the overwhelming feeling of being so full when he hadn’t in so long that had Baekhyun's body tensing up, crying out almost silently and feeling his hips twitch.

“My love, there you go.” Chanyeol continued cooing, curling his fingers until he was sure Baekhyun was done and the smaller was crying out on oversensitivity.

“Did so well, my beauty.” He added, kissing at his hip and removing his hand to scoot off the end of the bed, “I love you.”

“I love you.” Baekhyun whispered tiredly and breathlessly, Chanyeol smiled sweetly and grabbed the still damp towel from the laundry basket to clean him off.

“I really love you.” Chanyeol added after a few moments of carefully cleaning his hands and Baekhyun's body, not bothering to give the smaller his boxers back and just pulling his shirt down his thighs, sitting down to pick Baekhyun up into his lap, cupping the back of the smallers neck and beaming at how pretty he looked flushed and breathless. “You know that? Always going to treat you right, babe.”

Baekhyun smiled with half lidded eyes, pressing kisses loudly onto his mouth and cuddling close, “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me.” Chanyeol soothed, pushing the back of Baekhyun's shirt up to massage at his hips, “That’s what couples in love do, we love each other and are never causing each other pain. I want you to know that.”

“I like it like this.”

“I wish this was all you knew,” Chanyeol replied, kissing his ear, “I don’t ever want you to be scared of me, never.”

“I’m not.” Baekhyun frowned, pressing a tired kiss to Chanyeol's nose and another near his eye, “I know what fear is, I don’t feel anything like it when I look at you.”

“I’m really proud to hear you say that.” The elder admitted, hand resting innocently on the curve of his tailbone, “You ever want to talk about it, you let me know, baby. I’ll listen to every second.”

Chanyeol couldn't see his reaction because Baekhyun was instantly nuzzling into his cheek, kissing at his jaw, “Can you hold me really tight tonight?”

“Of course, I won’t let you have any nightmares, cupcake.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Are you guys happy? Chanyeol sure is. 
> 
> Also, you must be dying for them to have sex, lolllll.... the anticipation...


	14. Health & Happiness

Due to the events a day prior, both Chanyeol and Baekhyun had completely forgotten about the manila package burning a hole in the counter until the next morning.

But they couldn’t put it off forever, Baekhyun was digging his nail into the corner of it, chewing his lip and leaning forward to place his coffee on the table, “What if… something’s wrong? It feels pretty thick…”

“Baby, then we’ll get you treatment, don’t think like that.” Chanyeol cooed, leaning over the back of the couch, eyes still slightly puffy from just waking up and pressing a kiss to his forehead. “Calm down.”

Baekhyun wasn’t that afraid, but he didn’t want it to be something huge and scare the kids if he had to go to the hospital all the time.

“Okay.” Baekhyun took a quiet breath and pulled a couch cushion into his lap as Chanyeol took a seat beside him, turning on the television probably for background noise as he didn’t bother to change it from the cartoons that twins had been watching.

Baekhyun felt the twins slept a lot more than usual these days, probably because they had their own beds and had more room to spread out comfortably.

Or, it was just that they hadn’t had an opportunity to just relax and calm down, Baekhyun was the same, he had slept days away - not purposely - after claiming Chanyeol’s bed, just because he was so comfortable.

Ripping the top off the envelope, Baekhyun felt Chanyeol cuddling to his back, resting his chin softly on his shoulder.

The top paper was a list of tests, nothing they could really interpret as they had no idea what was normal or what not for him, but it was a bunch of vitamin lists, blood cell counts.

The second paper was the most interesting, typed in bold at the top was VITAMIN B-9, IRON, RED BLOOD CELL COUNT - VERY LOW.

“Due to low levels of hemoglobin, iron, red blood cells, and folate (Vitamin B-9), and due to patient reports, nutrient deficiency anemia seems to be the underlying issue associated with the symptoms reported.

Nutritional-deficiency anemia is caused by imbalanced or otherwise an under nutritional diet, but does have a number of treatment options.

Based on the amounts found in the patients samples, I have recommended and prescribed two forms of supplements (prescriptions are in a separate envelope). Along with these prescriptions, the patient is recommended to change a number of dietary habits.

A list of recommended foods, fruits, and vegetables are provided within the packet. But if the patient wants to discuss other means, please feel free to contact the hospital at any time to request an appointment.

If the condition seems to progress, please immediately contact the hospital.

Other common symptoms of progression of anemia and folate deficiency may include:

Muscle Weakness  
Visual Disturbances  
Depression  
Mouth Ulcers And/Or Numbness Or Swelling  
Cognitive Disturbances (Confusion, Memory)  
Desire To Eat Ice  
Weight Or Hair Loss

Taking care of the patients health and furthering long term effects of this condition is of our top priority, so please don’t hesitate to call with any questions or concerns.

Dr. Shin (M.D)”

Baekhyun didn’t wait a second after reading it to pass it to Chanyeol beside him and dig further in the envelope, pulling out the stack of papers.

“A lot of meat.” Chanyeol murmured over his shoulder, reading the list of recommended foods, “A lot of vegetables, we can do this, sweetheart. It’s manageable.”

“It’s… scary.” Baekhyun whispered.

“It’s not.” The other argued gently, “It's just a few more changes, you’re going to have to be eating a lot more often, which we have discussed anyways. And, a couple of supplements a day to make you healthier are not scary, it’s good. You’re going to be fine, baby. You’re going to drink lots of orange juice, eat lots of greens, plenty of protein - I hope in a few months you’ll have a cute little belly and have some more color to your face.”

Chanyeol punctuated his words with a sweet kiss to his shoulder, then a second below his ear. “Do you want to call in the prescriptions or me? You can even drive if you want.”

Baekhyun hadn’t driven in what felt like forever, and it probably had been, but he had never particularly liked to in the first place. He trusted Chanyeol to drive much more than he did himself just because it had been so long.

“Or, I can go pick up the medicine for you and run to the store. You can look into that preschool we talked about.” Chanyeol added to Baekhyun's silence. “Pick a baby, which one should I steal?”

Baekhyun laughed then, a fond laugh as he turned around to hug around Chanyeol's neck, pressing the larger man into the couch cushion to fit himself into his lap.

Not that Chanyeol seemed to care in the slightest, only humming and kissing at his collarbone.

“Nini wanted to go to the store. I think I’ll have Kyungsoo look at pictures of the school with me, see what he thinks.” Baekhyun answered, nuzzling his cold nose into Chanyeol's hair, “If you get chicken, I’ll make your favorite.”

Chanyeol grinned nipping at his neck playfully, “Are you bribing me? You know I listen better when food is involved.”

Baekhyun giggled cutely, kissing at his temple, knowing that wasn’t true at all because Chanyeol always seemed to listen to him - even to the twins when he was busy.

“Did it work?”

“Bet your pretty ass it worked.” Chanyeol growled, pressing a rough kiss to his lips and suddenly standing making Baekhyun gasp and wrap his legs tighter around his hips, “We still have time before the twins get up, should we make breakfast or do something else?”

“Hm.” Baekhyun mused, both hands running over the waves on the back of Chanyeol's neck, “We have time for kisses.”

“Always time for kisses.” Chanyeol choked out as he sat Baekhyun on the counter, the smaller already latching onto the skin on his pulse.

***

“Sick?”

Chanyeol hummed down at Jongin seated in the shopping cart, smiling kindly as the pharmacy clerk passed off Baekhyun's supplements. “Nobody is sick, we’re getting mommy some things to make him super strong.”

“Like me, daddy.” Jongin nodded, distractedly playing with Chanyeol's car keys.

“Just like my baby boys, yes.” Chanyeol agreed, kissing his head as he pushed the cart out of the pharmacy section to go towards the food area.

Jongin only scrunched up his shoulders cutely at the compliment, giggling and leaning over the handlebar to grab Chanyeol's finger despite the fact Chanyeol was pushing the cart.

But he only smiled and put his finger out for Jongin to hold onto anyways, using mostly the other hand to push the cart so the toddler could hold his hand.

“Daddy - it-it’s Christmas twee!”

Chanyeol smiled, looking where Jongin was pointing before laughing, shaking his head, “We still have lots of days, Jonginnie. What did you want from Santa?”

The toddler squealed an excited noise, and Chanyeol snorted, cart squeaking as he pulled it to the side to start adding vegetables, “I-Soo want new color book!”

“Mhm, what about you, baby?”

Jongin furrowed his brow and didn’t answer for a few minutes until Chanyeol was turning to check on him, “I want… soo get new color book.”

Chanyeol frowned, twisting a twist tie on a bag of tomatoes, “That’s nice, sweetheart, but I’m asking what you want. What does my Jongin want?”

“Nothing.” The baby shrugged, going back to looking at Chanyeol's keychains.

With a confused look, Chanyeol was going back to push the cart, pressing a fleeting kiss to Jongin's hair and running a hand down the toddler's head softly.

He expected the twins to at least want things, especially now that they seemed to be getting used to the huge changes the past weeks.

Cartoons were the quickest thing they had gotten used to, and then the layout of the house, and soon after it was the fact that Baekhyun was always home with them, even when Chanyeol was at work.

Baekhyun had mentioned the other day that he was glad the twins were settling in because things were very different than they were at the apartment.

Not that Baekhyun really spent much time there anyways, always working, so it was more of a place for the kids to sleep rather than a home.

In a few years when the kids grew maybe they’d get an actual home, buy an actual house with a yard where the twins could run around freely, but Chanyeol knew he had a habit of thinking too much about things that were too far in the future.

Well, he also was pretty patient, and that ended up well for him in this case, finally having earned a family.

But he wanted the kids to want things, to experience that part of growing up that they didn’t really get to have.

“You don’t want mommy and daddy to get you things, little bear? A new toy? New clothes?”

Jongin looked up at him almost confused, well, as confused as an almost three year old could be, “Don’t ask mommy. Mommy get sad.”

Chanyeol licked his lips before sighing, “Mommy won’t be sad anymore, daddy will take care of everyone, so what do you want, pumpkin?”

Jongin tugged on his seatbelt for a second until Chanyeol tsked and pulled his hand away, “No, baby, sit still. You’re not going to answer me?”

“Hum…” Jongin pursed his lips and got the cutest furrow in his brow, “Want… light Iron Man!”

“Light up Iron Man? I thought you liked Spider-Man?”

“Now like Iron Man.” Jongin shrugged before giggling to himself and leaning over the cart seat to press his cheek down on it to point at Chanyeol, “Daddy like Iron Man!”

“That’s right!” Chanyeol swooned, grabbing the palm waving in his face to gnaw on Jongin's hand, “Since my baby is so smart, let’s get a treat, what do you think?”

The toddler giggled, nodding and laying his own hands on the handle, “Mommy like… umm… gummy!”

“You sure you don’t just like gummies?” Chanyeol teased, “Mommy likes cookies though, huh? Everyone likes cookies!”

“Like cookies!” Jongin agreed, “Choc-it ones!”

“Of course, what others are there? Daddy will only eat chocolate chip ones!” He cried dramatically, grabbing a box of crackers from the cart to let Jongin hold when he started putting his arms up to want out, “Cookies and then let’s get some new shirts for mommy, deal?”

“Bue ones!” Jongin added with raised brows.

“Deal.”

***

“So,” Baekhyun smiled, holding Kyungsoo on his hip as the toddler drooled all over his cookie, “I think… we’re about settled, what do you think?”

Chanyeol was just like a child sometimes and Baekhyun found him adorable, turning to look up at him with wide eyes holding what was probably his fifth cookie, “I agree.”

Baekhyun pulled an amused face and knelt down to set Kyungsoo on the rug beside Jongin, “You’re going to get a stomach ache, Yeol.”

“I’m like eight of you, which means I can eat like eight of these and be fine!”

“Okay, now that’s just exaggerating.” Baekhyun laughed, picking up the container of cookies and moving them to the island, rolling his eyes at Chanyeol's sad eyes. “You can claim three times - and that’s it.”

“Please.” Chanyeol mused, patting his lap with pouting eyes for Baekhyun to come snuggle with him, “I can claim a million and it won’t change that my baby is so small.”

“I’m big!” Jongin cried aloud, shaking his toy car up.

“Not you, sweetheart, I’m talking about mommy.” Chanyeol corrected, pulling Baekhyun down into his lap to rest against his chest.

Kyungsoo turned to them with an angry look, chocolate covering his mouth, “I baby!”

“Mommy is my baby.” Chanyeol smirked at the two twins getting worked up.

The toddler humphed a confused noise, but otherwise only shrugged and went back to his puzzle that was now mainly just going in the trash with the grimy hands touching it.

“You’re ridiculous.” Baekhyun laughed, pressing their noses together in a butterfly kiss, “They're going to beat you up one day, and I won’t save you.”

Chanyeol only mimicked his words with a squeaky voice until Baekhyun hit at his chest and then he was placing an innocent look on his face and kissing at his cheek.

“So rude.” The smaller huffed, wrapping his arm around Chanyeol's neck and scratching gently at his scalp, “I was going to ask if we were going to have people over, but I see you want to be a child today.”

“That’s so offensive.” Chanyeol gawked, getting a soft giggle from Baekhyun. “But yes, we should. Everyone had been hounding and Jongdae even threatened to show up and invade - not a good idea, we don’t want his fleas here.”

Baekhyun stifled his laugh in Chanyeol's chest, squeezing his arm warningly, “You’re so sassy today.”

“Mhm, how will you deal with it, cupcake?”

“You’ll have to wait a few more hours to find out.” Baekhyun cooed, grabbing Chanyeol's wrist and playfully pointing at his watch. “Two hours till the babies go to sleep, good luck waiting that long.”

Chanyeol only hummed with a chuckle, pressing a kiss to Baekhyun's ear, “I suppose I can wait, did you take your medicine?”

“I did.”

“Good. And to continue our conversation, how about this Friday? It’s nearly Christmas so we can have a Christmas party. You can contact Junmyeon and Minseok.” Chanyeol added.

Baekhyun nodded against his chest, watching the kids play on the floor and combing at Chanyeol's hair, “It will be nice. I think Jun will be very happy for me.”

Chanyeol squeezed his waist reassuringly, feeling proud and patting his hip, “I’m happy for you too, you deserve it, baby.”

The smaller grinned, lifting his head up to press a handful of pecks to his lips, “I’m happy for me too.”

Laughing against his mouth, Chanyeol murmured, “I love you.” Then, he was pulling his lips into an amused look and kissing Baekhyun's jaw, “And I should listen to you more.”

“Hm, about what?”

“There is so much sugar racing in my veins right now I think I’m going to crash before the twins.”

Baekhyun cackled at that, pressing his amused smile into Chanyeol's cheekbone, “Oh, my poor baby.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me when posting this story: eh, this will prob be really short
> 
> Me now: *proceeds to write chapter twenty seven*


	15. Christmas Party

“Chwistmas party!” Jongin squealed, jumping up and down and getting a stern look from Baekhyun who was trying to put a nice shirt on him. “Dance!”

Baekhyun laughed at that, not even bothering to tame the mess on the toddler head as he had originally planned to, letting Jongin bounce off in his excited dance.

“Are you excited?” Baekhyun cooed, sitting Kyungsoo up from the floor to dress him cutely, “Are you going to be really good?”

“I go see daddy!” Jongin screamed, latching onto the doorknob.

“No, you rascal, daddy is cooking.” Baekhyun explained, “You leave him alone, and don't make a mess. Mommy and daddy cleaned up during your naptime, so don't ruin it.”

Kyungsoo whined aloud, going limp as Baekhyun put socks on him, “See daddy!”

Baekhyun smiled softly at their excitement to see Chanyeol, pulling Kyungsoo into a very forced hug, and not caring about the whining from the toddler.

He never thought he would ever be so happy, let alone have things so good.

And things were good, so good.

And Baekhyun only had Chanyeol to thank for it all.

“You love daddy?”

“Daddy lub, yup! Out now!” Jongin cried, struggling to try and open the door since Baekhyun had thought this through and had doorstopped it at the bottom.

“Ah,” Baekhyun tsked, “I guess!”

He heard Kyungsoo giggle at his exasperation as if it was the funniest thing ever and rolled his eyes at the toddler.

As soon as the two were set free they were rushing down the hall as if Baekhyun had them locked up all day, when it had been maybe half an hour of trying to dress them cutely after their nap.

“Daddy!”

Baekhyun snorted at Kyungsoo going to latch onto Chanyeol's leg, leaning over the island to grab a piece of cheese from the tray. “They act like I had them locked up.”

“Maybe you did.” Chanyeol teased, patting Kyungsoo's hair and stirring the pot on the stove.

“Daddy this, daddy that - I’ll be forgotten at this rate.” Baekhyun whined.

Chanyeol snorted, reaching down to pick up Kyungsoo and walking towards the island, “I won’t forget you, baby.”

Baekhyun rolled his eyes at him, pouting his lips and hearing Jongin screaming Christmas songs on the tv that he knew the toddler didn’t know.

“Great. You can watch the twins then, I’ll just…” Baekhyun walked towards the door and Chanyeol was laughing, wrapping an arm around his waist with one arm and kissing loudly at his cheek.

Baekhyun laughed loudly, turning around in his arm to kiss his lips a few times.

“Give mommy love.” Chanyeol cooed, turning to press his cheek to Kyungsoo's on his hip, “Mommy thinks our babies forgot him!” He added dramatically gasping.

Kyungsoo gawked then, mouth turning into an O shape and grabbing Baekhyun's neck instead, “My mommy!”

“Ugh! You’re so heavy - I take it back, go bother daddy!” Baekhyun cried, pretending Kyungsoo was way bigger than he truly was.

Chanyeol snorted and kissed his hair before making his way back towards the kitchen, “Take your medicine before you forget, babe. Or you’re going to get tired.”

Baekhyun hummed in acknowledgment, setting Kyungsoo down and walking around the counter to reach the supplement cabinet, pressing himself into Chanyeol's hip as he watched the man finish cooking.

Chanyeol only beamed to himself at the move, kissing his hair a handful of times before hearing the tell all signs of their friends loudly making their way from the elevator and sighing because he suddenly just wanted it to be them only.

“I’ll get the door-“

“Don’t worry.” Chanyeol snorted, “They’ll come in on their own.”

And less than a minute later the door was bursting in, “I brought alcohol!” Sehun screamed loudly and the twins squealed excitedly at the newcomers while Chanyeol huffed in Baekhyun's temple as he turned off the stove.

“Let’s not get drunk for their Christmas party, thanks.” Yixing deadpanned, placing a smile on his face when Jongin raced up to him with arms up, “Hi, buddy! Uncles brought you guys lots of Christmas presents!”

Baekhyun blanched at that and as he turned around saw that Chanyeol's friends had armfuls of presents they were setting under the small fake tree in the corner. Chanyeol had wanted to take them to get a real one, but got caught up last minute for work and Baekhyun didn’t think the twins minded because they hadn’t ever set up a tree in the first place, so they were content with whatever they saw.

Chanyeol was cupping his chin and pressing a reassuring kiss to his nose too, always knowing what was wrong, and Baekhyun felt a lot better. “Don’t worry, baby, we’re family. Just think of it like this, it looks much better with things under it.”

“Yeah.” Baekhyun agreed breathily, pressing a quick kiss to Chanyeol's lips, it was true after all, they hadn’t had time to go shopping yet and Christmas was days away.

“Okay, you guys are adorable and all that shi-Jazz.” Jongdae corrected himself at Kyungsoo's excited squealing as he brought Yifan his toy, “But I have no self control and I’m going to eat all your food and drink the night away.”

“You’re lucky that you’re not a crazy drunk or I’d kick you out.” Chanyeol rolled his eyes, grabbing a pot holder to move the turkey into the dinning room.

“Daddy!” Jongin wiggled his way down Yixing’s side, “Daddy, I help!”

Baekhyun smiled shyly when Chanyeol's friends shot their eyes over to look at him, shoulders tensing up slightly because he wasn’t sure what to think under their stares.

He knew that Chanyeol's friends and respective partners like Zitao and Luhan were extremely nice to them, and very obsessed with the twins, but at the same time he didn’t want them to think that he was trying to force anything on Chanyeol at all, that he was worming into the producers life just so he would take care of his kids.

“Okay, come on, little man.” Chanyeol cooed without even having to look in the living room, “You can go help mommy get spoons, deal?”

“Deal!”

At the out, Baekhyun was spending way longer than needed digging in the drawers for a proper number of spoons to hand to the bouncing toddler, but his nervousness was so obvious that his face was slightly red.

But then the doorbell was ringing, and there were only two people left who weren’t here that they invited, so Baekhyun was sighing in relief and making his way shyly around Chanyeol's friends because they were still looking at him calculatingly and he wasn’t sure how to feel.

“Jun.” He muttered with a relieved smile as he opened the door, wanting to throw himself at his brother in a hug, but his arms were full of presents and food so he settled on opening the door for him and Minseok instead. Baekhyun was slightly pouty when he noticed Junmyeon all dressed up in his work clothes though, wanting to call him out on looking like the stuck up lawyer he dressed up as.

“Uncle Min!” Kyungsoo squealed happily, wiggling his action figure around on Yifan’s knee, “Hi!”

“Hi, baby!” Minseok chirped enthusiastically before whistling and looking around, “Geez, didn’t tell us Chanyeol's place was paradise, Baek.”

That didn’t make Baekhyun seem any less a gold digger, not that Minseok noticed a thing, but he chewed his lip nervously and turned to rush into the dinning room to the side, “Jun, you can put stuff here.” He whispered nervously, moving some appetizers out of the way.

Chanyeol’s eyes were shooting up to look at him with a questioning look at the tone, but Baekhyun's smile must have been reassuring enough, because the man only smiled back twice as bright.

“Baekhyun,” Zitao called from the living room, and the pressure didn’t feel as bad when people were talking amongst themselves, “You should take a seat, you’re so thin, you look like you could break.” He sounded teasing, and Baekhyun laughed shyly as he patted the seat beside him.

“Taozi is a health coach, don’t let him get to you, he’s just observant, and worries easily.” Yifan explained for his boyfriend as Baekhyun perched himself at Zitaos side, immediately getting a lapful of toys from Jongin and he was positive the twins would sleep well tonight with how much they were popping around for attention.

“Oh, it’s okay, it’s fine, really.” Baekhyun assured, pulling his sleeves over his palms, “We just recently found out I was anemic, so we’re making some changes, but if we have any questions I’ll ask Chanyeol for your information.”

Zitao smiled brighter at that, reaching out to pat his shoulder reassuringly, “Don’t worry, anemia is manageable, especially with Chanyeol there - he won’t let anything slide.”

Baekhyun already knew that because just days ago he was too tired to eat and Chanyeol practically forced him to eat some soup, and the man was usually right about him being hungry as the cause of his fatigue.

“Mommy, cake!” Kyungsoo cried excitedly, little hands holding the edge of the table and peeking up on his toes to point almost right into the dessert Junmyeon had brought.

Chanyeol was scooping an arm around his waist quickly, getting a huge laugh as he kissed loudly at his cheek and carried him into the living room, “Soo, real food first!”

“Daddy!” Kyungsoo giggled happily, so happy that Baekhyun sometimes couldn't help getting caught up in the sounds because Chanyeol was literally perfect for the twins, so much so that it somewhat hurt Baekhyun hadn’t found him sooner.

“That’s new, huh?” Yixing asked, leaning over the back of the couch on his elbows, “You must feel so weird about it.”

“Chanyeol is great with the kids.” Baekhyun replied nervously under their gazes, “I-I mean, I think he’s always wanted them to look up to him… in that way.”

He gulped when he felt Chanyeol's friends only staring at him, and could hear his boyfriend talking sweetly to Junmyeon and Minseok about something and didn’t really have an escape.

“But what do you think? I mean… Chanyeol is a kind person, it must be really different to have someone else take care of them.” Out of all of Chanyeol's friends he knew Sehun and Jongdae the best, but something about Sehun's words rubbed him the wrong way because he didn’t want to come off as a gold digger in anyway, and he felt a bit like that’s what he was implying.

“I love Chanyeol.” Baekhyun whispered, pushing his hair behind his ear, “I love Chanyeol, and I think he’s an amazing father to them, I’m not… I- we’ve been together nearly a year, so I don’t… I don’t know what you want me to say to defend myself, I’m not here for his money, or-or fame, I just want him to be with me and the kids because we love each other.”

They just have realized they were freaking him out, because almost instantly he was getting a bunch of apologetic looks.

“Baekhyun.” Luhan laughed, and Baekhyun was slightly envious how pretty a man could be, “We weren’t saying that at all, Chanyeol has been ranting about you guys since the first week, we heard nothing but how happy you guys make him.

There’s no need to be defensive, sweetie, you’re already family and we love you. He won’t admit it, but he was really lonely before you even with other people, so it’s really nice that he has people to look forward to coming home to. We used to worry a lot, so if anything, we should thank you.”

Baekhyun felt his cheeks pinken at letting his own worries cloud his mind unreasonably, and ran his clammy palms over his jeans, chewing his lip as he glanced at Chanyeol's back, the man laughing deep and booming, and so beautiful. “I… I have a question.”

“Ask me, I’ve known that shithead since second grade.” Jongdae chirped over the couch, swinging his glass of beer around so hazardously Baekhyun knew Chanyeol had been right to say the couch had been through much worse.

“That doesn’t mean you know him any better.” Yixing rolled his eyes, “You guys hated each other, and you still won’t admit he beat you up in sixth grade.”

Baekhyun giggled into his sleeve at Jongdae’s immediate scowl and move to gulp his drink angrily.

“Anyways.” Despite looking so angry, Yifan really was one of the most laid back. “Go ahead.”

“I… I was thinking… I don’t- it’s too much, it might be too big of a step, but… I think that Chanyeol… he really loves the kids, so - do you…” Baekhyun cleared his throat and knew how awkward he must have looked, “In a few weeks... maybe the twins birthday or our anniversary, do you think it would be too much if I… I amended their birth certificates?”

“Like… like…” Sehun stumbled and Baekhyun gulped.

“To… add him, it’s.. it's only me on them, and I just… I left it blank, and I think it would mean so much to him… I think he still worries that I don’t see him as their father, but there’s no one else I could picture with them.”

He heard a gasp and felt around thrown over his shoulders over the back of the couch, “That'd mean so much to him, Baekhyun.” Yixing encouraged with a huge grin, “Really. He’d be so happy, you two are perfect for each other, I've never heard him ever say anything worrying at all. You should go for it, it’d make him so excited, Baekhyun.”

“I literally can’t think of anything that could make that giant happier. Truly.” Jongdae added, sounding genuine despite usually being sarcastic.

“Mommy,” Jongin giggled to himself, one hand holding a breadstick and the other making grabby hands at him, “Yummy.”

Baekhyun snickered and lifted him under his arms, and instead sat the toddler in Zitaos lap instead, “You can sit with uncles for a while, baby. Mommy is going to eat with daddy.”

“Okay!”

Baekhyun was sure that Chanyeol's friends were just as whipped for their kids as they were.

***

Other than a slight angry meltdown from Kyungsoo because they wouldn’t let him open the presents under the tree yet, to which the toddler stomped angrily and said that it was for him, when he couldn’t even read yet, the dinner went very well.

After Baekhyun's admissions, he didn’t quite feel like they were judging him at all, and even felt a little stupid when it was obvious they were only curious, or worrying about his health as Zitao had been, but his own fears overshadowed the obvious because Baekhyun didn’t want to give them any bad ideas about him at all, and it was so different now that he was actively living with Chanyeol compared to when he and the twins would see them in passing or occasionally for lunch dates.

“Are you full?” Chanyeol laughed and leaned over the chair to rub Jongin's stomach from where the toddler was spread across both Junmyeon and Minseok's laps, “You want to go to bed, Nini?”

“No sanks.” The toddler replied with a slightly pout, turning to curl up on his side and pretend he wasn’t tired.

Baekhyun giggled along with the adults, they were trying to watch a Christmas movie together, but he felt that everyone was much more distracted by the twins, and he had no problems with that when his kids ate it all up - and they deserved it.

They really did after everything they had to put up with since their birth, even Baekhyun hadn’t been able to give them all the attention they needed and it was the sad truth that he sometimes regretted keeping them just because he always felt he was neglecting them in some way even if he tried so hard.

The amount of gifts stacked under the tree showed how much love they were getting now, versus a year ago when they usually only got gifts from Junmyeon and Minseok - which was more than Baekhyun wanted the couple to give - and Baekhyun usually just treated them to something special and sat down to watch movies with them all day because they didn’t really know anything better, didn’t know about Christmas parties or about the extraordinary gifts Baekhyun knew they had gotten the twins in those piles.

They had only known Junmyeon and Minseok and The Grinch every Christmas, and Baekhyun usually cried because he felt so horrible for them.

But not this Christmas. In a few days they’d be spoiled rotten, and Baekhyun already had a list of things he and Chanyeol wanted to get them when they could find time.

“Babe.” Chanyeol cooed, wrapping his arms around Baekhyun's hips when the smaller leaned against the side of the chair, nearly making Baekhyun drop his cookie when he pulled him right over the arm and into his lap earning a loud laugh and a bunch of teasing about how cute the were, “Baby, Jun said they could take the kids tonight so we could do some shopping tomorrow.”

“Oh.” Baekhyun whispered with a fond smile, holding out his half eaten cookie to his boyfriend because he knew Chanyeol was obsessed with sweet things, “If you could, that'd be really great. Chanyeol had a song to do last minute so we haven’t had any time to get things done yet.”

“No problem.” Minseok brushed off, “I get pretty lonely not working anymore too, of course we’ll take them for as long as you guys need.”

Baekhyun flushed slightly at the words because Sehun was whistling and wiggling his brows and Chanyeol didn’t seem to care at all, only pressing his chin on Baekhyun's shoulder.

“I say uncle?” Kyungsoo asked, jumping up from where he was laying on his stomach focusing on the Grinch stealing presents, “Seepover.”

“You can have a sleepover with uncles if you’re really, really good, baby.” Chanyeol answered, deep voice rumbling against Baekhyun's back, “You promise to be really good?”

“Alway good!” Kyungsoo argued with a pretty smile, “Daddy say alway good, Soo!”

“That’s right, daddy thinks you’re always good, peanut. Go grab Scrump before you forget him.” Chanyeol said, chuckling at Kyungsoo's dramatically shocked face.

“That’s not fair, if this is how things are going to be then I want part custody.” Jongdae cried, whining and sending Junmyeon an offended look, “I’ll out uncle you guys.”

Baekhyun giggled and shook his head at the group, pulling his knees up into Chanyeol's lap and curling at his chest, turning to press a sweet kiss to his jaw.

His boyfriend merely smiled over the others arguing to babysit the twins and cupped his cheek for a handful of kisses.

But they weren’t just normal ones, but sweet and reassuring, and Baekhyun pulled away to rest their noses together with a smile when they met eyes.

“I love you.”

“I love you, baby.” Chanyeol assured immediately, pressing a kiss to his cheek and moving to rest his lips next to Baekhyun's ear, “Let's kick them all out and I’ll show you, finally.”

Baekhyun felt his hair stand up and nodded much more enthusiastically than he should, but Chanyeol just cooed that he was adorable into his ear and was shifting him off his lap to stand up.

“Jonginnie, let’s pack some toys to take, bug.”


	16. Pure Love

Baekhyun had been wanting this for so long, and him and Chanyeol had done so much other stuff together that he truly had no reason to be so nervous, but he was.

It had been years since he had sex with anyone, and even longer since he had someone make love to him, and he was so excited, but so nervous because he knew Chanyeol had so many lovers before him, and Baekhyun had only been with a few men in high school and the twins father wasn’t exactly someone he needed to impress, so he just wanted to do well for his boyfriend.

But his nervousness was obvious, and he hadn’t wanted Chanyeol to notice and take it back, so he had busied himself with cleaning up leftovers and kissing the twins goodbye much longer than he needed to because it wasn’t anything new that they would stay the night with Junmyeon when he needed a break.

Baekhyun just really wanted to impress Chanyeol.

So when Chanyeol had finally managed to send Jongdae with Yixing so he could drop the man off at home safely, since he had been drinking, Baekhyun was immediately folding his hands around Chanyeol's waist and knew he must have looked so hopeful as the man laughed and pressed a kiss to his forehead way too gentle to scream that he too wanted to have sex, “You don’t want to watch a movie for a while?”

Baekhyun really couldn't give any fucks about trying to pretend he wanted anything other than for Chanyeol to fuck him, because he had been waiting so long and his boyfriend made him hold out much longer than they needed to. “Chanyeol, you said we would have sex.”

“Well, I was trying to be sweet and let us spend more innocent time together, but I guess since you’re so fucking cute.” Chanyeol cooed playfully, but there wasn’t anything to say when he was pushing Baekhyun's back against the door and running warm hands down the smaller hips.

Once they met eyes Baekhyun could see how turned on Chanyeol was too, despite the man sounding unaffected.

Chanyeol licked his lips with such a fond smile. Baekhyun couldn't stand it anymore and was reaching up to curl his hands around Chanyeol's neck, forcing him down to his level to press their mouths together heatedly.

Kissing Chanyeol was like tasting pure sugar, it was so sweet, but also made him so excited, especially this time when he knew that there was no way Chanyeol could back out of having sex with him when he was the one who got his hopes up.

“Fuck. Why do you taste so good?” Chanyeol groaned, and Baekhyun only had time to laugh breathily on his lips before the man was reaching down to hike Baekhyun's legs around his hips, pressing him into the door with so much strength Baekhyun wouldn’t even care if they had their first time right here pressed against the door because his boyfriend was so hot it made his hair stand up.

“I love when you do that.” He purred, licking across Chanyeol's bottom lip, “Could fuck me like this, standing up.”

He earned such a heavy groan against his mouth that Baekhyun wasn’t even shocked that Chanyeol pressed their hips together more firmly, letting him feel him hardening. “I’ll fuck you like this one day, baby. Would you like that? Bet I could hold you up with one hand and fuck you against a wall, you’re so small, baby, perfect for me to pick you up.”

Baekhyun positively keened, throwing his head back against the door as Chanyeol sucked harsh kisses into his skin, “Oh, please. Please. You’re so big, Chanyeol. I love when you hold me like this, fuck me like this - I-I’ll be really loud for you, please.”

Chanyeol must have really, really liked his begging because the noise that he vibrated against Baekhyun's collarbone was nothing short of a growl, hands moving down to squeeze Baekhyun's ass through his jeans, “Fuck. Your mouth is so fucking dirty.”

“Let me show you.” Baekhyun whispered breathlessly, pressing his lips to Chanyeol's ear, “I’ll show you, let me suck your dick, I’ll be really good, Chan.”

“Oh, holy shit.” Chanyeol was pulling them away from the door and making Baekhyun scramble to wrap his arms around his boyfriends neck even though Chanyeol didn’t seem to be wobbly even the slightest about the added weight as he started towards their room, “I know, you’re so good with that pretty mouth, baby, so good for me. Because you’re mine, huh? This pretty mouth is mine, and your pretty ass is mine?”

Baekhyun really liked to hear how possessive Chanyeol could be because it was pretty rare that the man outright said such possessive things.

Chanyeol was just the right amount of possessive without it being obsessive, getting jealous just enough for Baekhyun to know he cared, even though Baekhyun would really like him to get jealous even more because it was extremely hot, and so it wouldn’t make him feel as bad about how jealous he would get for the situations he would create inside his own mind.

It just really didn’t help that he had so much time on his hands now and a lot of internet access, and there were a lot of rumors about Chanyeol on it, and even more blogs lusting over the producer; so Baekhyun, of course, could be pretty jealous sometimes even if he never mentioned a thing because it was unreasonable jealousy.

Most of it was probably because Chanyeol hadn’t had his company issue a statement yet about his questionable relationship status and reporters had been curious since the man hadn’t been partying or really seen in public the past year, of course nobody would expect him to be playing with toddlers in a park when he was in public, so nobody knew.

And Baekhyun wanted them to know he was the one that had Chanyeol like this, desperate for each other.

“Your dick is mine, Chanyeol.” Baekhyun replied, rolling his hips down over his boyfriends, “You're mine.”

“Oh, fuck you’re making it really hard-“ Chanyeol dropped him on his back on their bed and was immediately undoing Baekhyun's jeans, “- for me not to fuck you senseless, baby.”

“Do it.” Baekhyun challenged, impatiently pulling off his shirt while Chanyeol pulled at his jeans, “Please.”

Chanyeol didn’t respond for a whole minute, undressing Baekhyun before digging in their dresser to grab a bottle of lube and pulling his own clothes off, “No. I’ll make love to you, babe. Then, we’re free to fuck and we’ll even do that awkward parent sneaking around when the kids are sleeping shit, because I won’t be able to keep my hands off.”

Baekhyun stifled a giggle at his words, only able to stop the noise because Chanyeol was naked and he was still shocked by the sight. “We can send them to their uncles.”

“Mhm.” Chanyeol hummed, leaning over Baekhyun and shadowing the smaller, elbows resting by his ears and Baekhyun could hear the plastic bottle being opened, but his boyfriend was such a good multi tasker that he was pressing kisses to Baekhyun's face without his eyes leaving him, “Love you.”

Baekhyun's entire body sang and he was curling his calves around Chanyeol's thighs and brushing their erections together, “I love you, so much.”

He didn’t think he would ever get used to how happy Chanyeol looked at the response, how his eyes brightened considerably, and despite him shifting and his hand trailing wet with lube down Baekhyun's ass, he still looked so in love.

It was unreal to Baekhyun.

“You have no idea how fucking long I’ve waited to see you like this.” He cooed, pressing a kiss to Baekhyun's mouth as his fingers prodded gently, earning a content hum from the smaller and Baekhyun's legs tightening around him, “God. I knew I needed you when I saw you, so gorgeous, baby.”

“You-“ Baekhyun huffed a moan and pushed his hips back against Chanyeol's fingers, he has had Chanyeol's fingers more than a handful of times now, but the length still surprised him, pushing right up against his prostate, “- You are the one that didn’t want to.”

“Fuck. Worst decision ever, never let me try to be a gentleman ever again, now I’m impatient and want to fuck you into the headboard for looking so fucking innocent when I have two fingers up your ass, baby.”

Baekhyun giggled, sitting up as best he could to press his smile into Chanyeol's shoulder, arms wrapping around him tightly, “Let's do that next time, I want you to make me cry.”

“God, I both hate you and love you so fucking much - I’m going to come just because of your dirty mouth.” Chanyeol grunted, rolling his erection over Baekhyun's and the smaller could feel the precome leaking onto his navel.

Baekhyun choked on a laugh, mind getting clouded as he tensed his muscles, frantically scratching down Chanyeol's shoulder, “Fuck- fuck, god - stop or I’m going to come, Chanyeol.”

Chanyeol stopped immediately, but smirked and brushed the hair from Baekhyun's forehead so the smaller could catch his breath for a second. “That good? Just wait until you’re on my dick, baby. You know I’m big everywhere.”

Baekhyun whined a breathy noise, hitting his shoulder without any real force, “Don't say that or I'll want to suck your dick, and we don’t have time before I’ll come.”

“Ah, can’t have that.” Chanyeol murmured playfully, sitting back and grabbing more lube, “Condom?”

“Mm, let’s not have a baby right now, not when you’re finally having sex with me.”

Baekhyun's words sounded more pouty than anything, and Chanyeol chuckled as he reached over his head for a condom from their side table, but his words caught up once he was sitting back on his heels and rolling the condom on his length, “You want to have a baby with me?”

Baekhyun hummed like he hadn’t really heard, thighs shaking slightly as Chanyeol moved them back around his hips, then Baekhyun was wide eyed and shy,  
“I-I didn’t…”

“Fuck. I love you, I love you, Baekhyun.” Chanyeol whispered, lining himself up and laying his hands on Baekhyun's hips, “Do you love me enough for that?”

“Of course. Let’s… let’s talk about it later.” Baekhyun whispered, flushing up his chest, feeling slightly awkward at the subject versus what they were supposed to be doing, and his cock leaking onto his navel agreed.

Chanyeol only lit up like a beacon, holding Baekhyun's hips and carefully sliding a few inches in, but Baekhyun was still so, so tight around him, years of not taking a cock obvious because Chanyeol's fingers were long, but his cock much thicker. “Fuck. You’re so warm I could come like this, just sitting here.”

“Please just fuck me.” Baekhyun requested throwing his hands into his own hair since Chanyeol was sitting back on his knees between his legs, unable for him to latch onto, and Baekhyun was trying to roll his hips, “Oh, please Chanyeol. Please - fuck, I forgot how good this was.”

Chanyeol grunted out a noise that varied in pain and pleasure as he pressed his hips flush against Baekhyun's ass, letting the smaller cry out his moan at being full and waiting for him to adjust, “Just for me, baby. Just feels so good because it’s me and I love you so much.”

Baekhyun didn’t know exactly how making love and having sex differed until now, eyes slightly glossy as Chanyeol intertwined their fingers beside Baekhyun's head, pressing the back of Baekhyun's hands into the soft bedding. “I’m yours, Chanyeol.”

And Chanyeol's expressions were always loving, always so sweet, but it was so strong that Baekhyun sniffed tears and gulped with a slight smile as he looked at Chanyeol and found the man to be looking just as happy as him, leaning down on his elbows to press his chest over Baekhyun's and carefully holding his weight up with his knees and elbows, “I love you, baby. Love you so much, I’m yours, always.”

Then Chanyeol was burying his nose into Baekhyun's forehead and rolling his hips into him.

Baekhyun swore they both were ridiculous with watery eyes and loud moans into each other’s skin, but he found that when he was with Chanyeol he didn’t really care about anyone’s opinions but his.

  
***

“We should get Soo a bike!” Chanyeol stated, much more childish than a fully grown adult man, and Baekhyun loved it.

“Chan, are you sure you just don’t want a bike?” Baekhyun sniggered, tapping the pen in his hand to his notebook with their Christmas list, “He’s not even three yet, we don’t really have a yard he could practice riding in unless you want him to leave wheel marks all over the carpet.”

Chanyeol deflated with such a huge pout it was ridiculous, “I’ll buy us a house then.” He decided.

Baekhyun rolled his eyes at his dramatics, pressing a kiss to his boyfriends jaw and wrapping his arm around Chanyeol's, “Let’s focus on the toys they wanted before we go there, the apartment is big enough for all of us and more, Yeollie.”

“Okay, but consider this-“ Chanyeol smirked and Baekhyun groaned in false annoyance as he had seen this look since they woke up together this morning, “a nursery.”

Baekhyun threw his head down on the side of the cart with a playful groan even though his ears were bright red and Chanyeol absolutely would not shut up all day about this.

Honestly, he hadn’t considered having another child, not really ever, so his words hadn’t really meant anything other than exactly why he said them - so he wouldn’t get pregnant, but Chanyeol's face was so hopeful and so endearing that Baekhyun couldn't stop thinking about it.

And Chanyeol didn’t really let him forget the slip up, and was more than excited to continue embarrassing him until Baekhyun gave him a straight answer of his thoughts about it.

“Babe, don't you think baby clothes are so cute?”

Baekhyun squeaked an embarrassed noise, reaching out to slap Chanyeol's arm, “I’m never having sex with you again, you animal.” He threatened with pink cheeks and a pout.

Chanyeol only beamed like it was the best thing he had ever heard, grabbing a flashing toy from the top shelf and Baekhyun didn’t even know if the man knew what it was, but he was throwing it in their pile anyways, “You definitely weren’t saying that only a few hours ago, you’re so much quieter in the mornings.”

“I’m going to smack the shit out of you.” Baekhyun warned playfully, “Don't come near me again.”

“You love me.”

“Unfortunately.”

Chanyeol sent him a cute scrunched nose grin and Baekhyun knew he was visually putty as he sighed and wrapped his arms around his boyfriend's waist, “Let's think about this seriously, Chanyeol. I honestly haven’t considered having any more kids.”

Saying it aloud sounded more rude than Baekhyun meant for it to, but at the same time he did consider that maybe Chanyeol would be upset not having a child that was genetically his, but the man never seemed to care at all - never even asking anything about his ex more than what Baekhyun was willing to say.

“I’m just playing.” Chanyeol soothed, pressing a kiss to his curls, “Of course I would be so happy to have a baby with you, but the twins are more than enough, Baek. It’s your body, it’s your choice, my love.”

And then he was pushing the cart on and looking relatively unphased, only picking up toys and looking so much like a parent as he read the back of the boxes, and Baekhyun had half a mind to tease him that he didn’t even read the back of toy boxes, but his heart was racing.

There wasn’t really much else to say other than that Baekhyun was so hopelessly in love with Chanyeol it wasn’t even funny.

Not only did the man extinguish his thought that he would want his own child because the twins weren’t his genetically, but he went a step further and told him that it was his choice and Baekhyun had never heard that before.

As a carrier he was expected to have children, expected to have sex with his partners with no fuss, and while he was willing and never once felt as if he hadn’t consented, there were times where he didn’t really feel like it, but had anyways to please his ex.

Of course, Baekhyun hadn’t really felt sex was love back then anyways, but creating a child should have been, and to a degree he did feel like it wasn't his choice to have the twins.

He didn’t really have many options because as soon as he had saw the first ultrasounds he was in love, but in creating them he had felt cornered and didn’t really like sex anymore.

So it was a big deal to him that Chanyeol didn’t seem to care about him having a child or not, “It's your body, it’s your choice.” Sounded so sweet even though his boyfriend had only said it in passing and moved on as if it didn’t take him any effort at all to formulate the idea.

Baekhyun didn’t think anything sweeter had ever come from Chanyeol's mouth before, and he had heard so many, many sweet and sugary things; things that had him wondering if Chanyeol even realized how fast he could make his heart speed up.

“Cupcake, Jongin likes Octonauts or was it Kyungsoo? I forgot. Should we just get one of each color?”

Baekhyun didn’t even really look at what he was talking about, only wrapping his arms around Chanyeol's waist and pressing his cheek into the muscular curve of his boyfriends shoulders, “Did I tell you I loved you today? I love you.”

Chanyeol’s whole torso shook when he laughed and Baekhyun already knew the answer to his question, “Only a million times, but you know I could hear it all day, baby.”

“You’re supposed to say you love me back.” Baekhyun whined playfully, nuzzling into his sweater more.

“Don’t you already know so by now? I think I spoil you enough with I love you’s, beautiful. But I do love you so much, so I’ll tell you whenever you want.”

At this point Baekhyun heard it so much it should make his heart immune to beating faster, but he could feel Chanyeol's heart beating fast too, so he was just glad that they were in the same boat.


	17. A Family

Playing Santa was fun mainly because Chanyeol had no self control around sugar, so to say he ate up almost all of the cookies they had told the kids to set out was an understatement.

Baekhyun had only ate like two and took a huge bite out of a third to leave as “proof” for the twins, and Chanyeol had practically knocked out an entire dozen last night for literally no reason other than having no self control, so Baekhyun had spent the better part of last night babying him and rubbing his stomach even though he was sure Chanyeol's stomach ache had long passed and his boyfriend just wanted attention after a while.

“Mommy! Santa eatted my cookie!” Jongin screamed at the top of his lungs, bouncing with the half eaten cookie in his hand.

Baekhyun saw Chanyeol cringe and snorted, reaching out to pull Jongin into his lap, “I know, it’s so crazy, huh? Mommy didn’t hear a thing!”

“Ho-how he in!” Kyungsoo cried, rubbing his puffy eyes and holding Scrump and his rabbit friend squished under his arm, nearly tripping over his pajama pants to crawl in Chanyeol's lap when the man sat down on the floor to start sorting gifts.

“Don’t you know Santa is magic, he can go anywhere if he wants to!” Chanyeol played along dramatically, “He has lots of magic!”

“Oh, no.” Jongin murmured, looking wide eyed up at Baekhyun with genuine concern, “He can scare Soo!”

Kyungsoo gasped loudly, stomping all over Chanyeol's leg as he cried a scared noise and grabbed around the man’s neck, “Daddy!”

“That’s crazy!” Baekhyun gawked, combing Jongin's hair back from his face to reveal the pretty eyes hidden behind his bangs, “Santa is good, why else would he bring all the good little kids presents? Huh? Because mommy and daddy called him and said that our babies were so good and needed lots and lots of gifts!”

Jongin awed and nodded, quickly forgetting everything he was concerned about and making Baekhyun huff in exasperation as the toddler probably didn’t even remember the story he had so nicely made up.

“Okay, okay, present time.” Chanyeol murmured, sliding Kyungsoo off his lap and moving him to a pile of presents much bigger than he even was, “Soo’s pile, and Nini’s pile.” He explained, pointing Jongin to which pile was his.

It hardly mattered when the twins were used to just sharing everything anyways.

“Baekhyun's pile.”

Baekhyun furrowed his brows at that, they didn’t discuss getting gifts, and if Chanyeol bought him something then he was going to feel horrible about what he had gotten him.

“A lot are from our friends.” Chanyeol explained, but he was holding a square thin package in his hand as Baekhyun climbed to his feet to sit on the couch, “This one is from me.”

“Should we- Uh... watch the kids open first?” Baekhyun asked shyly, already fully aware that the squealing was the toddlers already creating a mess.

Chanyeol snorted and pushed the curls from his face as he took a seat beside Baekhyun, laying the present in his lap, “We already know what they got, don't worry, I took pictures of them already. Jongin's morning grumpy face and all.”

Baekhyun giggled, very familiar with said face when they woke him up, fiddling with the corner of the envelope, “I-I got you something too, well, I made you something.”

Chanyeol’s interest peeked at that, raising a brow in silent question and Baekhyun wanted to hit him for looking so handsome so early.

“I-I asked Yifan to help me, and… and I sang you a song, on your computer - it’s- it's not that great, I’m no singer, but… I thought, since you -“

“I’m going to listen to it first thing.” Chanyeol promised, and his smile was wide and beaming, all pearly teeth on show as he combed the messy hair on Baekhyun's temple down, “I’m sure it’s very beautiful, baby.  
Now open yours and then we’ll listen to your song.”

Baekhyun smiled more relaxed when Chanyeol's arm was curling around his shoulders and he could lean comfortably into Chanyeol's side.

It was a bit hard to focus when the twins were being absolute monsters, squealing their excitement even over clothes that Baekhyun was positive they couldn’t really care about when there were tons of toys in those wrappings.

But he found the nerve to stop watching them when he noticed Chanyeol was supervising them because they both knew sometimes they could get a bit aggressive when too excited or worked up.

“... what is this?” Baekhyun asked softly, opening the papers with a confused furrow of his brow.

“Well.” Chanyeol began, “I know… you’ve been sick, and stressed so we didn’t have time to talk about it. We’ve had so much going on that we pretty much forgot, but we were lucky and registration was barely still open.

So, I went ahead and went in to talk to the Principal and teachers at the preschool around the corner. I admit I did give them the circumstances of what occurred at their last daycare, and they were so kind, Baek. I really, really have a good feeling, so I went ahead and paid their registration, but that’s not even the best part.”

If there was one person on the planet Baekhyun trusted to make such huge decisions about the twins it was Chanyeol, so he did feel majorly relieved that the man had gone to approve it in person because he knew there was no way Chanyeol hadn’t been extremely picky about it - probably more than Baekhyun even.

“They have a speech therapist, baby.” Chanyeol added with a huge smile, “Kyungsoo would get some help, and he won’t even have to go to a scary hospital to get it, I saw the room - it’s all colorful and has so many toys. The therapist said that she usually pulls the kids out for an hour right before they get to play on the playground so we wouldn’t even have to have him stay an extra hour, he’d get out at the same time as Jongin, same classroom and everything.”

Baekhyun felt his entire face scrunch up as he looked at the papers, Chanyeol had signed for them, and technically the man didn’t have any legal rights over the kids, so Baekhyun would still need to go in with these papers to sign the line above Chanyeol's, but he was so happy.

He had denied for the longest time that Kyungsoo's speech was really any issue at all because he could understand him, and Jongin could understand and there wasn’t any reason in his mind for others to not understand him.

And Kyungsoo really was getting better as time passes, but the truth was that he was pretty behind Jongin, and he could use the little help they could give him - but Baekhyun had been afraid to leave his son alone in a scary office or hospital for the treatment because he didn’t want Kyungsoo to be upset at all.

Suddenly, Baekhyun really wished Chanyeol was their legal parent as he so obviously wanted to be, and Baekhyun wanted him to have that privilege too, wanted him to stay with them no matter what because nobody else would protect the twins better and that’s all Baekhyun really wanted as a parent - for them to be loved and safe at all times.

“Wha-what-“ Baekhyun scrunched his nose up with a sniff as he cleared the shakiness from his throat, gulping back tears, “What's this one?”

Chanyeol looked really shy then, and it was ridiculous considering moments before the man admitted to going out of his way to make sure the kids were getting an education and that they were getting everything they needed. “I didn’t know… if you were serious, but I-I uh.. I enrolled you for school again, I didn’t know your major or… anything like that, but you still have time to choose classes, it’s your student code and instructions of how to sign up for the online classes. I can… if that’s not what you wanted then-“

Baekhyun didn’t even care to let him finish as he was sitting up on his knees and forcefully curling his hand into the collar of Chanyeol's shirt and pressing their lips together, so harsh he heard Chanyeol make a confused noise at how fast he acted.

“I love you.” Baekhyun growled like he was angry, but the tears falling down his face were a hundred percent happy, “I fucking love you. I don’t know what else t-to tell you to explain h-how much I love you, Chanyeol.”

His voice was cracking and he saw Chanyeol look both upset that he was crying and happy at his words, pulling Baekhyun down to straddle his lap and wrapping his arms around his back, “That’s okay, because I can feel it, Baekhyun. I already know, babe. And I love you just as much if not more than how much you do, okay? I really want you to do what you want to do now, because I feel like you’ve never really had a chance, and now you do.”

Baekhyun merely sniffled pathetically because Chanyeol was so right, but also knew what to say in such a way he only wanted to cry more.

“Sh, baby.” Chanyeol soothed, running his hand down the back of his hair, pulling his head under his chin, “I just want you to do what you wanted all along, and I know you can do it, my love. You’re much smarter than you give yourself credit for, and you should be able to have a chance even if you decide it’s not for you - and even then, it’s okay, and I still think you’re brilliant.”

“You… you really made my gift look like shit.” Baekhyun complained wetly, pressing a kiss to Chanyeol's jaw and burying his nose there.

Chanyeol chuckled, pressing his lips to his temple, “Of course not, I’d take your voice over any gift ever. I swear.”

He always sounded genuine and Baekhyun hadn’t ever felt Chanyeol lied to him, so he only laughed, rubbing his tears with his palms over Chanyeol's shoulder and relaxing into the comfort his boyfriend was willing to give.

“Daddy, open?” Kyungsoo asked, jumping up and wiggling a plastic container by Baekhyun's back.

Baekhyun snickered to himself, rolling off Chanyeol's lap to curl back on his side, knowing that it was to the point the twins were going to start wanting them to open all the plastic lined toys, he could see Jongin picking through his pile already.

“What do you say?”

“Pease.” Kyungsoo beamed with his pretty little heart shaped grin.

Chanyeol smiled right back, pinching his cheek softly, “So polite, my sweet baby, let daddy go get some scissors really fast. Wait here.”

Kyungsoo giggled to himself as he climbed onto the couch, always looking so close to falling Baekhyun was worried about the smaller twin taking a tumble, but it wouldn’t really be anything new. “Mommy sad?”

“Mommy is happy.” Baekhyun corrected, debating on scolding Kyungsoo when the toddler stood up on the cushion to watch Chanyeol's back in the kitchen, but it was Christmas so he decided to play nice, “Do you want to go back to school, Soo? Daddy found you a really nice one, I know you guys are bored at home and want to make friends.”

“Fwiends?” He heard Jongin mutter to himself and laughed because he always was the more social one of the two, but Kyungsoo was so sweet even if he didn’t try to make friends as much.

“Um…” Kyungsoo pursed his lips, “No scawy.”

“Daddy approved it for you, you trust daddy will take care of his babies, right?” Baekhyun prompted, patting Kyungsoo's hip, “Nobody is going to be mean to you anymore.”

Kyungsoo hummed and shrugged slightly, bouncing on the cushion excitedly when Chanyeol was bringing back the doll, “Daddy sayed good, okay.”

“Daddy did say it was good,” Baekhyun grinned, pulling Kyungsoo and his new doll to stand between his legs and smiling at Chanyeol over Kyungsoo's side, “And we trust daddy so much, huh? You should go give him lots and lots of love.”

“Okay!”

Jongin never liked to be left out of cuddles, so the toddler was stomping up a storm to join not even a minute later.

***

The school was beautiful, and just two weeks before the twins birthday they were going in for their first day, dressed adorably thanks to the new wardrobe they had gotten because Chanyeol's friends had no idea of what just getting one Christmas gift was.

But their flashing new shoes and cute backpacks didn’t make up for how nervous Kyungsoo was despite his brother being up and roaring to run around and play.

“Hello, I’m Mrs. Im, I’ll be their preschool teacher, you must be the twins, how cute!” The woman seemed friendly enough.

“Can I play!”

Baekhyun was slightly upset that Jongin was such a social butterfly right now, because he was wiggling in excitement so hard Baekhyun could feel his little fingers curling through his jeans as he held onto his leg.

“Of course, honey, you can put your backpack in that cubby over there.” The teacher instructed, and before Baekhyun could try to coddle Jongin the toddler was giggling off.

“So, what are their names?” She added, smiling at Kyungsoo who quickly buried his face back in Chanyeol's shoulder shyly.

“Jongin.” Baekhyun pointed at the toddler who was already throwing himself into a circle of kids at the toy box, “And this is Kyungsoo, he’s pretty shy at first.”

“So you must be their parent, hello, your partner was… very thorough in his questions, I’m glad that you decided to give us a chance.”

Baekhyun smiled politely, “Yeah, well, after what we experienced, we wanted what was best for our kids.”

He felt Chanyeol's hand press against his spine and knew that his boyfriend was more than pleased that he corrected the woman and claimed him as the kids father.

She beamed, bowing her head apologetically, “Of course, it must have been tough for you guys to have to go through that, don't worry at all - Kyungsoo will fit right in. We don’t tolerate bullying of any kind or any sort of hurtful statements. Sometimes kids need a little extra help, and that’s perfectly fine. You guys are welcomed to sit in on his first session if you like, our speech therapist Sunmi is very patient with the kids, and very good, so I hope her and Kyungsoo will get along well.”

Baekhyun saw Chanyeol glance after his watch and knew that the man had to get to work soon, and he too had somewhere to go. “We’re actually on a time limit today, so we really appreciate the offer, but can’t.

Kyungsoo might be a little fussy if you try to separate him and Jongin for a while; Jongin is very protective of him.” He explained quickly, lifting Kyungsoo out of Chanyeol's arm.

“No problem. I’ll let the speech therapist know and she might just have them both come until he’s comfortable. I’ll let you guys say your goodbyes, and I’ll see you at noon to pick them up.”

Baekhyun chewed his lip as the teacher walked off, it did seem very nice, and he could tell this place was way more expensive than the day care that he had taken the kids to - his only hope now was that the kids decided they liked it, but he knew that if not they would just look elsewhere. “Okay. You’re going to be very good, Soo, right? Mommy will take you for ice cream if he hears you and Nini were super good at school.” He promised as he knelt down and held Kyungsoo's backpack straps.

“Mommy.” Kyungsoo's lip was immediately poking out, and the kids never really had any fits going to daycare even though they hated it, so Baekhyun wasn’t surprised he didn’t say anything but look tearful.

“I know, baby.” Baekhyun cooed, cupping his cheek and pressing a kiss to his forehead, “It’s going to be different this time, mommy promises and he’s never broken one before, right?”

“Okay.”

“Ah, our strong boy,” Chanyeol praised sweetly, laying his hand over Baekhyun's knee as he knelt down to press a kiss to Kyungsoo's face, “You watch your brother, okay? Nini is crazy!” He cried dramatically.

Kyungsoo smiled slightly at that, nodding and pressing his lips out to give wet kisses.

“See. You’re okay, sweetheart. We love you, and mommy will be back in only five hours to pick you up.” Chanyeol vowed, kissing Kyungsoos cheek firmly, “And daddy will read you a story for being so strong, promise.”

“Soo! Soo meet our fwiend!”

Baekhyun sighed, and wasn’t sure if it was relief or not as Kyungsoo shyly walked over to his brother, accepting Chanyeol's hand to stand up.

“Come on, babe. I know.” His boyfriend soothed, rubbing his hand up and down Baekhyun's shoulder comfortingly as he led them out.

It was good to leave while he was distracted or they’d likely be there all day, but Baekhyun still felt bad about it.

“Nervous?” Chanyeol asked, opening the car door for him.

Baekhyun chewed his lip and buckled himself as he waited for the man to get in, pulling out his phone from his jacket pocket. “Not because of the school, I know you would only find them a place you know is best.”

Chanyeol smiled brightly at him, cupping his cheek and leaning across the center console to peck his lips chastly, “Only the best for our kids.”

And Baekhyun suddenly didn’t feel quite as upset anymore as Chanyeol started the car and was immediately, and embarrassingly, scrolling on his phone for the cheesy cover song Baekhyun sang for him.

It didn’t sound nearly as bad Baekhyun thought, or it was because Chanyeol had been near tears spewing how he was an angel and such cringeworthy compliments that Baekhyun was starting to think it was alright.

Either way, Baekhyun was positive about Chanyeol, always.

And that’s what led him to text Junmyeon to pick him up in a half hour from their house, long after Chanyeol had left for work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I started a CHANBAEK DRABBLES BOOK I HAVE SO MANY JUST SITTING AROUND
> 
> If you leave requests on it, perhaps I’ll do them!


	18. Unique Celebrations

“Twins birthday and our anniversary all in one?”

Baekhyun hummed in acknowledgment to the words, typing away at the computer, face and hair a mess and his nude body only covered by a blanket as he sat up in the center of bed, love marks down the side of his neck to his chest.

“Should we invite Kibum and Taemin?”

“I don’t think we can handle four toddlers all at once at the zoo, Chan.” Baekhyun replied distractedly.

Chanyeol made an annoyed noise and was climbing to sit behind Baekhyun, wrapping his arms around the smallers waist and pressing his lips to his pulse, “What are you ignoring your boyfriend for, huh? I need attention or I’ll explode.”

Baekhyun giggled to himself, turning his head to press a quick kiss to the side of the man’s mouth, leaning back against Chanyeol's bare chest, “I think you just had plenty of attention.”

“Never enough.” Chanyeol argued, running his lips below Baekhyun's ear and smirking against his skin at his shiver.

“Give me a second.” Baekhyun requested with a smile, scooting away just so he could finish, “I’m doing my homework for tomorrow right now so I don’t have to worry about doing anything this weekend.”

Chanyeol hummed, but was always impatient despite the fact that he and Baekhyun had only just finished having sex an hour ago, only having finished showering less than fifteen minutes ago.

“Ah, Chanyeol!” Baekhyun whined, but knew it was more of a laugh as the man trailed fingers down his spine, “I’m almost done!”

“Hurry up.”

“Don’t be bossy or I won’t suck your dick.” Baekhyun fired back, but they both knew he was lying.

“No take backs, you know it’s my favorite way to see your pretty little mouth.”

Baekhyun stifled a moan at his boyfriends words, slamming the laptop shut after hitting submit, immediately turning to sit up on his knees and throw himself over Chanyeol's thigh, “You're fucking annoying.”

“You love it.” The man purred, kissing his collarbone and Baekhyun didn’t have any time at all before Chanyeol was flipping them over and pinning him into the bed, pecking his skin until all Baekhyun was was a pile of giggles.

At some point Baekhyun heard the laptop get flung off the bed, but even if it broke Chanyeol would just buy a new one the next day - what mattered now was his boyfriend's fingers on his skin.

***

“Tigers!” Jongin screamed in excitement, bouncing on his feet and holding Chanyeol's pant leg, “Daddy, rawr!”

Chanyeol beamed happily, reaching down to scoop Jongin onto his hip to give the, now, three year old a better view, “I know! So scary! Happy birthday, baby.”

Jongin threw his arms around Chanyeol's neck so tight his little arms were shaking with excitement, pressing his nose into the man’s cheek affectionately.

“Don’t have fun without us.” He heard Baekhyun drawl and couldn’t help the smile spreading across his face as he turned around and saw his tiny boyfriend pushing the new stroller towards them.

It took Chanyeol a good three days to convince him that the kids were much too big for the old, ratty stroller, but the last straw was literally when the fabric inside ripped and Baekhyun reluctantly gave in.

He was so much better about spending these days, but he still liked to use things until they were on their last legs much to Chanyeol's dismay.

“No fun!” Kyungsoo chirped, swinging his legs and chewing on a piece of a churro in his fingers as Baekhyun turned the stroller so he could see the tigers too.

“Here.” Baekhyun mumbled, passing Jongin the other half of the churro and holding a soda out to Chanyeol as he waited for the man to strap the toddler back in so they could continue on without having the twins dropping food all over.

“Juice, pease.” Kyungsoo requested, sweetly holding out his churro for Chanyeol to take a bite.

Chanyeol only laughed, faking a bite and reaching over to the cup holder on top for his juice box, “Our Kyungsoo is talking so much, daddy is really happy, my little owl.”

The three year old smiled prettily, nose scrunching up in pure happiness that only a toddler could radiate.

“Sunmi really is something, huh? He wants to talk so much.” Baekhyun commented, and Chanyeol could hear just how proud he was too.

But it was true, the past three weeks of preschool had done Kyungsoo wonders, and from what they had heard from the kids and teacher the twins loved it, and were quick to make friends.

When Baekhyun had heard the teacher say that at their teacher meeting Chanyeol had to take him out of the room because the smaller was close to tears, and Chanyeol knew how horrible Baekhyun felt about the daycare, but it didn’t calm his anger for the place when Baekhyun spluttered about how he didn’t think they had made any friends before.

It was ridiculous if the other kids didn’t want to be their friends, the twins were so sweet, and even if Jongin had a slight blow up he was always fast to apologize and share his snacks.

Which was how he, Kyungsoo, Kibum, and Taemin had become friends, because apparently Kibum had placed his backpack in Kyungsoo's cubby and Jongin really didn’t like that and threw an entire fit.

And Taemin, Kibum's slightly younger friend, didn't like him being upset and offered him his lollipop.

Since then the four had been pretty inseparable at school, and Baekhyun was almost positive Jongin had a crush on Taemin even if they were barely three. It was adorable really.

“I’m always right.” Chanyeol claimed dramatically, wrapping his arm around Baekhyun's waist and stealing a few pieces of his popcorn, “You can quote that, baby.”

“Your ego is way too big these days, I don’t know who you think you are? Some big shot producer?” Baekhyun cried playfully, wrapping his hand around Chanyeol's wrist and stealing a big gulp of soda in retaliation.

“Well.” Said producer drawled, “Right now I’m undercover as a dad. Suits me, right? I make a very hot dad, huh?”

“You’re lucky that you’re handsome, because I can’t handle you half the time.” Baekhyun replied with a laugh, pressing a kiss to Chanyeol's cheek.

“Oh, I have to disagree.” Chanyeol argued with a coy grin, “I think you handle me very well, beautiful.” He added sleazily, pressing a kiss to a hickey below Baekhyun's ear for good measure.

The smaller burst into knee weakening laughter, and Chanyeol could never get tired of the sound or sight, because Baekhyun really was an entire masterpiece and he honestly felt so lucky he had won him over in the end.

He knew that Baekhyun thought he didn’t deserve Chanyeol, and Chanyeol was quick to disagree because he wholeheartedly was convinced that the smaller deserved way better than him, way more than him.

But Baekhyun was his soulmate, and he refused to acknowledge him as anything else.

“Daddy! Mommy! Woah!” Kyungsoo clapped loudly, leaning over his seatbelt with pointing fingers.

Following the toddler's sight, Chanyeol smiled into Baekhyun's hair at the flamingos, a pretty bright pink group of them cleaning themselves.

“Do you know what that is, Soo?” Baekhyun asked with an equally as excited grin, “Flamingos.”

“Plamigo!”

Chanyeol and Baekhyun shared a smile, close enough.

It was cute to come do something like this every once in a while because Baekhyun looked just about as amazed as the toddlers.

Chanyeol felt pretty determined to try and take them to special places more often, because he really wanted to spoil them rotten for all they’ve gone through.

And Baekhyun out of a people really should be spoiled sick because he was so caring, and had worked way too hard for so, so long without much support - support Junmyeon had offered, but Baekhyun wanted to be independent, and that was completely understandable, but now that Chanyeol knew him down to what color socks he prefered to wear he knew that the reason he didn’t accept Junmyeons help wasn’t pride or anything of the sort.

It was just because Baekhyun wanted to heal on his own.

His boyfriend had gone through way too much, sometimes even scooting closer at night when Chanyeol was up late on his laptop, worming his way as close as possible as if Chanyeol could protect him from his past pain and only god knew how much Chanyeol wished that could happen.

He truthfully couldn’t even fathom or bring himself to try to imagine Baekhyun's past situation, because the small carrier was so, so strong, and Chanyeol couldn't think of one good reason to lay a hand on anyone - let alone him.

Hell, he couldn’t even stand to see the way Baekhyun's eyes would droop slightly when he frowned, like it physically pained him for his boyfriend to be upset at all.

So to think that at one point someone had beaten him to a pulp, could spit such terrible lies about his boyfriend and warp his idea of himself was unbelievable, literally made Chanyeol's chest hurt because he loved Baekhyun so, so much, and he was so sweet.

Baekhyun was also so extremely small that it would be so unfair for someone to even consider trying to physically fight him when it was obvious he was weak and submissive when under pressure despite that Chanyeol had seen him spit viciously if it were for the kids, but never for himself.

“I want to see the koalas.” He heard Baekhyun muttered with an excited, wide eyed expression, “Koalas are so cute, Chanyeol. Where do you want to go?”

“Whatever you guys want to see is perfect, baby.” Chanyeol cooed softly, pressing his lips to Baekhyun's cheekbone, “Let’s get them tired so they sleep well later.”

Baekhyun's ears turned red at his implication, but Chanyeol smirked as the smaller pressed his lips together to try and suppress his smile. “Well, we are celebrating our anniversary today anyways.”

Chanyeol chuckled and placed another kiss to his temple, curling a finger into the side of Baekhyun's jeans possessively and because he really likes the pretty flush of his chest, slightly regretting his boyfriend walked out in such a low cut shirt because he looked downright sinful.

“We were only nine days off from the twins birthday anyways, so I think it’s really nice if we celebrate both at once. It’s really… like a whole family celebration.”

He couldn’t describe to Baekhyun how happy it made him when the smaller said things that made him realize just how much Baekhyun remembered about their relationship, showing how much it really meant to him just by remembering the exact date of their first date.

Mainly, because Chanyeol had been so in love with him for so long he remembered everything, so it was hard to remember that Baekhyun had loved him very soon too, but didn’t really show it for the longest time.

“It’s very sweet, my love. I agree, it’s a unique celebration.”

Baekhyun made a cute accomplished noise and Chanyeol grinned because he didn’t even look like he heard himself.

“Daddy.” Jongin mumbled, sugar coating his cheek, “Up pease.”

“Again? So demanding!” Chanyeol cried playfully, already kneeling down to unstrap him.

***

“Did you have a good birthday?” Baekhyun asked softly, combing Kyungsoo's damp hair and smiling as the toddler bobbed his wide eyes open and closed.

“Sawed… pishes.”

Baekhyun laughed softly so as not to disturb Jongin who was knocked out across his blanket, “I know, we saw so many pretty animals today.”

Kyungsoo smiled tiredly, his little teeth on show as Baekhyun adjusted his pajama shirt and pulled back his blanket.

“Kyungsoo, let mommy ask you something.” Baekhyun muttered softly, tucking the blanket around him and leaning on his elbows by the toddler's head, “Do you want to be with daddy forever?”

He knew it was a horrible time to try to talk seriously to the kids, especially because they were too young to even understand, but they could still feel and Baekhyun felt that knowing they loved Chanyeol was more than enough.

“Daddy stay me.” Kyungsoo slurred tiredly, smacking his lips quietly and Baekhyun laughed under his breath.

“Okay.” Baekhyun whispered, leaning down to press a kiss to his cheek, “Daddy wants to stay with you too, so mommy is going to make sure of that.”

Kyungsoo was already practically asleep when Baekhyun stood up from his knees to go fix Jongin's blanket, the bigger twin slept like a log so he didn’t need to worry about waking him up.

“Baek?”

Baekhyun jumped slightly at Chanyeol holding the doorknob, looking unreasonably handsome for it being so late at night. “Sorry. I just was seeing if you were done, I put on a movie for us.”

“Done.” Baekhyun assured softly, flicking off the lamp by the door and curling his arm around Chanyeol's hip as they walked out.

“Did you have fun?” Chanyeol asked him quietly, not wasting a second of their time and pulling Baekhyun into his lap as soon as they were in their room, the television hanging on the wall brightening the room.

“Of course.” Baekhyun whispered, curling his around over Chanyeol's neck, “I always have fun when you’re there.”

Chanyeol pressed a few kisses to his neck then, soft and innocent kisses that made Baekhyun turn his head to the side. “I’m glad. I love you guys, I’m never happier anywhere else but with you.”

Baekhyun wanted to tease him about being cheesy, but he only wished right now that his gift for Chanyeol could come in sooner, how perfect right now would be for him to give it.

“Make love to me?” He asked instead, heart warm.

“Of course, baby.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, the Harry Potter drabbles are consuming me, I don’t know if I should just make them their own collection or not!! 
> 
> Like damn, ChanBaek are so cute in them, I can’t stop writing it!


	19. Papers & Promises

“Chanyeol.” Baekhyun muttered, knocking on the office door quietly, “Hey, I know you’re busy… but Yixing just picked up the kids and I wanted to talk to you.”

Chanyeol had been so busy lately it was nearly ridiculous, the man was at work until seven or eight when usually he was home by five, and even when he was home he was locked in his office working on his computer until his eyes were red.

Baekhyun didn’t blame him at all, but he was worried about him, he hadn’t seen Chanyeol get in one of these phases, and he was a bit upset because the man didn’t tell him what was going on half the time, so he was worried out of his mind when Chanyeol hadn’t come home at five like normal the first day.

“Baby, I’m a little busy right now.”

Baekhyun sighed, fingers scratching the envelope in his hand, “I… your anniversary present came in.”

“I thought we weren’t doing presents, babe.” Chanyeol wondered, turning around in his desk chair and leaning on his elbows, “Our anniversary was two weeks ago.”

“It’s not… really a gift, well… I don’t know, can we talk?”

Chanyeol noticed how nervous Baekhyun was and nodded, offering his hand out to him, pulling the smaller to sit on his thigh once he was close enough, “What's wrong, baby?”

He saw Baekhyun gulp slightly and the smaller was peeling open the envelope but only sticking his fingertips in, not pulling anything out as he turned to stare at Chanyeol seriously. “Remember the papers you signed the other day?”

He honestly had gone through so many papers he could only remember Baekhyun asking him to sign something and he did without questioning at all, probably something for fees at school since the smaller had to get proof of funding for college.

“Babe. I’m sorry, I- my mind is a mess right now, this new singer is releasing so many-“

“Oh.” Baekhyun deflated and Chanyeol felt horrible, because it was obviously something important, he pressed a kiss to Baekhyun's shoulder apologetically.

“I’m sorry, Baekhyun. I’m sorry, what was it?”

Baekhyun slid off his lap, and Chanyeol couldn't tell if the smaller was angry or not, but he started pacing, running anxious fingers through his hair, “Chanyeol. It was really, really important.”

Chanyeol’s whole face dropped because Baekhyun looked devastated, and he couldn't understand what was so important, he trusted Baekhyun so if he gave him something to sign he did - and forgot about it. “Baek, why are you crying? Don’t cry.”

“It was really important.” He didn’t sound angry, but more like he was beating himself up and it made Chanyeol feel worse, “I-I’ll have to go to the Court and see if I can undo-“

“What’s in your hand?”

“It doesn’t matter anymore.” Baekhyun whispered, “You… you didn’t read the documents, you… don’t know.”

“Baekhyun. Please stop crying, why are you so upset? It’s just a paper-“

“It was a declaration of paternity.” Baekhyun snapped, tossing the envelope into Chanyeol's lap, “I-I’m stupid, of course you didn’t read it, you would’ve come to ask me about it. But I-I just thought you were too shocked to bring it up.”

Chanyeol’s brows furrowed because he honestly had no idea what Baekhyun was talking about and was pulling open the envelope to pull out two thick papers.

“Don’t worry. I’ll go to the Court and ask them to revoke it. Your name won’t be there if you don’t want it, I just… I thought you’d want it, and then - then you didn’t ask, and now you don’t know and -“

“Baekhyun.” Chanyeol's nostrils flared and he swallowed hard as he laid a hand over his mouth, tears welling up as he read the papers.

Two papers of soft, thick material. Identical except for the names at the top.

“Fuck. I’m a goddamn idiot, I’m so sorry, Chanyeol. I’m so sorry- I-I’m going to go fix it.”

“Baekhyun.” Chanyeol cried firmly, “Baekhyun, stop. I love it, come here. C-Come here, baby.”

Cautiously, Baekhyun was moving to stand between his legs, wiping his nose off and still looking extremely scared. “I’m sorry.”

“Stop saying that.” Chanyeol requested, forming a small smile and wrapping one arm around Baekhyun's back, pulling his hips closer to the chair, “This is the best thing you could have gotten me, Baekhyun. I-I… fuck, I’m their dad.”

And then Chanyeol was bursting into tears so fast Baekhyun didn’t have any time to prepare his nose digging into his shirt.

He’d seen Chanyeol cry happy tears before, but he was so loud now, crying so hard Baekhyun's chest hurt even though he knew they were elated tears.

Combing fingers through Chanyeol's hair, Baekhyun took in a deep shaky breath of relief, “I… you were supposed to read the papers, I thought you were just too surprised to bring them up.”

Chanyeol didn’t even seem to hear him, only sniffing harder into his shirt, breath coming in pants as he held the papers in one hand and the other curled into the back of Baekhyun's shirt.

“Oh god.” He suddenly murmured, pulling back so fast Baekhyun's hand on the back of his head nearly smacked him, “Baekhyun. I can.. I can add them on my insurance now, I'll… I’ll get to be on their school stuff as their dad… I can, I can go and -“

“Chanyeol.” Baekhyun burst out with a watery laugh, “You don't need to do all of that right now.”

“Yes I do.” Chanyeol argued with a huge grin, “Baek, we have to make sure we add me to all their things.”

And Baekhyun was giggling, the sound slightly choked as he leaned down to press a kiss to Chanyeol's forehead, wrapping his arms tightly around the man’s neck, “Let’s focus on one thing first, insurance is most important, but we don’t need to do it right now, we can call them later.”

“You… wanted me to be their legal dad, so I want to make sure I do right by you.”

“You always do, Chanyeol. There’s nothing different now. The only difference is… if anything happens to me they’re yours too, and you can always see them, because they’re yours and I trust you to take care of them no matter what.”

“Ours.” Chanyeol corrected, and despite his eyes being swollen and red from not sleeping and crying his smile was huge as he suddenly stood up, nearly knocking Baekhyun over if he hadn’t cupped his head, “Ours, baby. I want to be with you forever.”

“Is that a proposal? I thought we were way passed pick up lines.” Baekhyun teased, laying his hands on Chanyeol's hips and looking up at him.

Contrary to how Chanyeol usually loved these sort of jokes, he wasn’t laughing, but looked completely serious as he pressed a kiss to Baekhyun's hair. “When you’re ready, then yes.”

Baekhyun let a laugh slip before his words were settling in and he laughed once more, this time in disbelief, “You're serious.”

“Of course I am.” Chanyeol smiled watery, “Of course, it’s always you, Baekhyun. I’ve never loved anyone but you, so when you think you’re ready I want to marry you.”

Marriage was a huge thing. Not something Baekhyun ever thought about aside from them joking back and forth, which was probably why Chanyeol wasn’t proposing to him, but telling him that when he was ready they would get married - because they both knew Baekhyun wasn’t ready for it right now, maybe tomorrow, maybe not for years, but eventually he would be.

Eventually he would say yes, because it was undeniable how much he loved Chanyeol, how much they shared together.

And even if they argued at no point did Baekhyun feel like they weren’t going to work it out, because Chanyeol was gentle with him always, despite that Baekhyun had a short temper and got aggressive before he thought rationally.

He blamed his past relationship for making him like this, short tempered, but it was much better, in Baekhyun's opinion, than just cowering down and letting people walk all over him as he had done in the past.

“I want to be with you too, always.” He responded under his breath, fingers tightening on Chanyeol's shirt, “I’ve never been loved before, until now.”

Chanyeol sighed into his hair, pressing his lips down on Baekhyun's forehead, “And I love you so much. I… I really just wish I could have found you sooner.”

“Me too.” Baekhyun whispered as Chanyeol took his seat again, letting the smaller climb back into his lap.

“We don’t really talk about it.” Chanyeol mumbled, holding Baekhyun's back to his chest safely as he turned his chair around toward the monitor, resting his chin on his boyfriend's shoulder as he looked at the screen.

Baekhyun hummed, curling his fingers into the back of Chanyeol's hair to massage gently, earning a pleased grunt from the producer. “Did you want to?”

“It doesn’t matter if I want to, it’s your choice. I don’t want you to be scared talking about these things.”

“I’m not scared.” Baekhyun disagreed softly, adjusting his knee so it wasn’t pressing so hard into the arm of the chair, settling back on Chanyeol's thighs more comfortably as it seemed they’d be here for a while because the man did still have work to be done despite much rather be coddling Baekhyun and the kids instead.

Honestly, he’d probably call Yixing and demand for his kids back later anyways, just so he could say it.

“Okay, baby.” Chanyeol cooed, running his hand down Baekhyun's back, “I don’t want you to be scared to talk about it, but you’ve healed so much by yourself that I want to heal with you. Junmyeon told me… some pretty sad things, and I can’t even picture it because you're so sweet, honey, and I don’t want you to think for a second that you deserved any of that.”

Baekhyun nodded, running his fingertips over the shell of Chanyeol's ear softly, “It used to not be so bad, but it.. wasn’t like this at all. We fought a lot from our first date, but he was never… scary at first, he never tried to hit me or anything so I just.. brushed it off because he would always say that I didn’t understand things because I was younger, and I was, so i thought that's how relationships were - that everyone argued a lot too, even the best of couples.”

“That’s not healthy.”

“Nothing about our relationship was.” Baekhyun laughed to himself, relaxing against Chanyeol as the man massaged his hip despite clicking at something on the computer, always listening so well even though he was very, very busy. “But before that I never had a boyfriend… just some flings, so I didn’t have any perspective. So… when I heard rumors of him sleeping around, he just said that I wasn’t enough and that’s how men were which is so wrong now that I think about it because I’m a man too, I’m not that different even if I can carry, and I don’t feel like being loyal is a challenge at all.

But he just.. made it seem like that's how it was, and… I made some bad choices, I wanted a reaction, wanted any attention and the first time he hit me was my own fault.”

“Nothing can ever excuse someone putting their hands on another, especially not someone they’re supposed to love and care for.” Chanyeol argued softly, kissing his collarbone and moving his hand from his mouse just to push Baekhyun's hair behind his ear, “It’s not your fault.”

“It really felt like it was. I… I slept with someone because... if he could then why couldn’t I? But… it didn’t make me feel better at all, but I got a reaction - not the one I was looking for, but a hit to the face really… knocks sense into you.”

Baekhyun laughed and Chanyeol frowned because he knew the smaller was just trying to play it off, liked to pretend things were jokes, but they weren’t funny at all, Baekhyun knew so too, so he didn’t call the other out just because he knew that's how he was keeping himself from crying.

“I remember… I moved in with him because I thought I was a hassle to Junmyeon and Minseok, I used to stay with them, but I was only working at a small restaurant, and I wasn’t going to school so I felt like they didn’t really like me so much, I was really wrong I know now, but I thought I would feel better about myself if I moved in with him.

The first night…” Baekhyun sniffed close to Chanyeol’s ear and the larger could only smooth gentle hands over his back to calm him down, “I was so stupid, he literally threw me into a wall so hard that I had such a huge bruise on my spine; I had to call into work because I couldn’t move very well. But he also said he loved me that night, a little after, and then he let me sleep in his bed and I thought it was really kind of him because he used to not like that very much, usually kicking me off after we had sex because he liked his space.”

“Baby..” Chanyeol warned at the shaking hands he could feel on his shoulders, pushing away from the desk even though he was on a time crunch to cup Baekhyun's face, “Sh, you don’t have to talk anymore, not at all if you don’t want to.”

“I want to.” Baekhyun argued, but his face was pink and nose running slightly, “Chanyeol, I want to.”

He knew Baekhyun had things he couldn’t really tell Junmyeon, private things that he wanted only Chanyeol to know, because there were things his brother didn’t need to know, that he probably couldn’t understand, and Chanyeol was honored that Baekhyun wanted him to know, but it still hurt.

Baekhyun really needed someone to talk to, someone other than his brother and brother's husband because he was still scared despite being adamant he wasn’t.

“You love me.” Baekhyun added, but it sounded more of a question, pressing his face very close to Chanyeol’s.

“I love you.” Chanyeol assured, closing the distance for a slow kiss and pressing a second to his nose, “Always love you, baby.”

Baekhyun smiled and Chanyeol knew he wasn’t the only person that fell for his boxy grin because he had heard his friends cooing about it before, “I love you too.”

Chanyeol hummed deeply, kissing Baekhyun's neck innocently, “I know, cupcake.”

“And I know you’d never try to give me away.” Chanyeol frowned at his words then, confused. “He liked to drink.” Baekhyun added, staring somewhere over Chanyeol's shoulder and pressing their chests together so he didn’t have to look at him, “I… don’t know what it was about still, but I think he and his friends were doing some really bad things, Chanyeol. And I wasn’t that stupid, I had money I was saving and I refused to give any to him, we fought about money a lot… but I heard him one night talking to his friends and I’m pretty sure he offered me to them, payment for something… I can’t.. remember much, but I remember that he dragged me into the living room and told me to be good for them, and I really didn’t want to.

And they weren’t ever shy about thinking I was attractive, another thing I got in trouble for because he said I seduced his friends but.. I didn’t, I never did, I just came in and went to sleep, or left for work when they were there, I had barely a few words with them. But they were all for it, and I wasn’t; I remember getting beat so badly for not having sex with them that I had to call Junmyeon to come, and he wanted me to go to the hospital, but I didn’t… I knew Youngmin would be mad if he knew I went.”

“Because he’d be arrested, like he should have been.” Chanyeol growled, “Because he knew what he was doing wasn’t right, so he was afraid you would get the police involved. And if he was also doing other bad things as you said then he probably had so much to get in trouble for, baby.”

Baekhyun didn’t respond then, only curling up to rest his chin on Chanyeol's shoulder for a good cry, and his boyfriend had no problems just holding his hips closer and letting him rest, because it was obvious Baekhyun was done talking about it for now.

And Chanyeol was done too, his stomach was literally burning because he wanted to call Junmyeon and demand everything he knew about what happened to this man.

It wasn’t even the fact that this was Baekhyun's ex and part of him was so possessive to hear about them together, but it was just the fact that he had no idea if the piece of shit got what he deserved for doing such things to Baekhyun.

In general if Chanyeol heard someone was being treated terribly by someone he was angry, he would stand up for them even if a stranger, but because this was Baekhyun - the mother of their kids, the love of his life - it made rage simmer.

Years had gone since then, but he could still see how much Baekhyun was tortured by the subject, even if he had healed so incredibly much all on his own.

“You… you can’t treat people like that.”

“No, baby, you can’t.” Chanyeol agreed softly, unknowing of when such a happy event turned into this, but whenever Baekhyun wanted to talk about it, it was best to accept then and there because if not he had no clue if the smaller ever would again. And he needed to. “I’ll protect you guys, babe. I’ll always protect you guys.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, I’ve been going through a bit of a sad spout, quarantine is finally catching up, and I’m overthinking too much.


	20. Going Public

Despite their talk, Chanyeol was still working very, very hard and late at night, and Baekhyun was honestly so bored as he was accustomed to a routine and Chanyeol not being there was throwing it off.

The normal things were easy, he called Chanyeol at lunch time but was only able to talk a few minutes because the man was busy, then went to pick up the twins at around three.

He listened to the two bounce and rant all about what they did before stopping at the corner store to get a few groceries, and a candy since the twins had been so good at school, and took them home.

They played for a while amongst themselves, babbling about things Baekhyun had no idea about because, “School stuff, mommy.” As Jongin had cried exasperatedly when he asked, Baekhyun was both offended and amused, but overall just glad they liked it so much. 

Then he made dinner, and this was where he routine was slightly messed up, because Chanyeol usually arrived around five to help him cook, which was fine because Baekhyun liked to cook anyways, so he didn’t mind cooking alone.

But even all the past week Chanyeol had been home for dinner, popping in as fast as he could to join them apologetically, but he showed up so that’s all Baekhyun cared about because the kids start to notice when the schedule gets messed up too.

Today though, the clock passed seven and he still hadn’t shown, and the clock hit eight and he hadn’t gotten any responses to his texts so he was putting the kids to bed alone.

Which the twins very much disagreed with as they were so used to seeing Chanyeol before bed or at least talking to him that they claimed they wouldn’t sleep at all until they heard from him. 

Baekhyun tried to call his phone, but it didn’t even ring, and he wasn’t mad, he was just annoyed he hadn’t heard anything.

Thankfully, the twins were too tired after their long school day that they went to sleep after Baekhyun promised Chanyeol would see them in the morning. 

So now, the clock was passing nine and he was sitting in the living room chair doing his homework, waiting for Chanyeol to arrive. 

Usually he tried to get his homework done after dinner when Chanyeol could watch the kids, not that the twins were very distracting, but it was just easier for him to concentrate if he could go sit in the office by himself to do it. 

For this assignment he had to attach a recent news article, so he was pulling up the news quickly, attaching the first one he saw just to get the assignment done when he found himself clicking one just below it.

And he was pissed, and just overall ready to tear Chanyeol a new one for not calling him all day and then having him worry over a bullshit article.

He knew Chanyeol would never cheat on him, not in a million years, but paparazzi sure did a good job at making articles seem real.

It was only posted a few minutes ago, “Producer Park Chanyeol has eyes for a rising star.” 

The girl was admittedly beautiful, so beautiful that Baekhyun was nervously scratching his neck because the photo did look like they were at least involved in some way or another, Chanyeol always just looked so happy when he laughed and she was looking at him like she was enamored with the sight.

Baekhyun knew it was from today, because he had watched Chanyeol get dressed that morning, but he was finding himself getting more jealous just because his mind wouldn’t stop comparing the girl to himself.

Even though he knew it was ridiculous, and that the paparazzi just hadn’t seen Chanyeol in so long that they were willing to do anything, including make up a shit story of him and a client walking out of his company building.

Holding a door for someone didn't mean they were dating, it was polite, and Chanyeol was always kind.

But fuck did it just piss Baekhyun off because he felt that girl looked ridiculously gorgeous beside Chanyeol.

“Babe - I’m so, so sorry.” Baekhyun hadn’t even heard him come in, only startling slightly at his words and slamming the laptop.

“Fuck.” Chanyeol looked all kinds of tired as he took off his shoes, “Baby, I’m sorry. It’s really late I know. I’ll go check the kids and we’ll lay down.”

“Paparazzi says you're dating Kim Jisoo.” 

Chanyeol looked like he had zero idea what Baekhyun was saying, “Huh? I just finished her album.” 

“She is very pretty.” Baekhyun added, trying not to sound jealous, but knew it was obvious as he pulled his legs into the chair with him, “No wonder they made up such a story, you looked really happy.” 

Chanyeol only just then seemed to realize what he was talking about, frowning and walking to the kitchen to get water, feeling Baekhyun watching his back, “Paparazzi thinks a lot of things, sweetheart. Is this because I’ve been so late? Don’t worry, I’m done. I told her company next time I won’t accept a project last minute.” 

Baekhyun only rested his jaw on his palm and watched Chanyeol lean over the island with an apologetic look. “The kids wanted you to say goodnight to them, I tried to call you.” 

“I know, I’m sorry.” Chanyeol sighed, setting his glass down and walking towards him, “My phone was going off all day, I turned it off, and I was so busy I forgot to call you and tell you. I’m sorry, I’ll make it up to them.” 

His boyfriend knelt down to the side of the chair, cupping Baekhyun's cheek to press a kiss to his lips. “I missed you all day, baby. Don’t be upset about a stupid rumor, you know I love you.” 

Baekhyun relaxed slightly then, but was still being bugged by his own thoughts, leaning over to ask silently for another kiss and rubbing his thumb on Chanyeol's cheekbone. “Are you ashamed.. to go public with me?” 

Chanyeol pulled away instantly, looking absolutely confused and upset, “What?” He questioned, “Of course not. Never. What should I be ashamed of? You’re beautiful and the kids are beautiful, there’s nothing at all I would be ashamed of.” 

“She’s prettier.” 

“Baekhyun.” Chanyeol sighed, picking up his hand resting over his thigh, “Baby. You’re the most beautiful, always. To me, you’re an angel, all I think about. Don’t be jealous when I love you so much, if you’re jealous that means I’m not telling you enough. So I’ll tell you more, I’ll praise you more, gorgeous. You’re the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen.” 

Baekhyun laughed shyly then, shoulders relaxing as he rubbed his thumb across Chanyeol's, “I’m sorry.” 

“There’s nothing to be sorry for. I should have asked sooner, do you want me to tell the public? I will, baby. I don’t care at all if the entire world knows that I’m very much in love with you and we have two secret kids together - they don’t need to know anything else, you guys are mine and that’s all they need to know.” 

It felt a little selfish for Baekhyun to want him to so badly, because it really shouldn’t matter if Chanyeol had someone, it wasn’t anyone’s business, but Baekhyun was pretty possessive. 

He couldn't help it when Chanyeol was known to sleep around in the past, so many articles could account for this fact, and Chanyeol himself had admitted to being pretty promiscuous before, and Baekhyun was very insecure, but Chanyeol treated his insecurities so well. 

“I… do you think you’ll get in trouble? With your fans, I mean.” 

Chanyeol laughed, “I don’t care. I think they’d be pretty happy I was settling down. I mean, you’d think it was obvious when I haven’t been in any scandals the past year. I don’t have time for anything but you and parenting, baby.” 

“No time for supermodels?” Baekhyun inquired playfully, wrapping his arms around Chanyeol's neck, “Every man’s dream is to fuck models.” He added teasingly, pressing a kiss to his boyfriend's neck.

Chanyeol snickered, picking Baekhyun up from the chair as he stood up, “Who needs supermodels when I have a beauty right here? That’s my only dream.” 

“You don’t dream to fuck me?” Baekhyun cooed, pressing his smile down on Chanyeol's jaw. 

“Are you offering? Sounds like an offer to me, baby. Dreams do come true.” 

Baekhyun couldn't be happier to be thrown on their bed.

***

In hindsight, Chanyeol never was the most low profile about anything, so Baekhyun should have expected something like this.

 _“I’m crying, he really did that?”_ Luhan was cackling and Baekhyun was having trouble trying to get dressed and stay quiet.

“Yes.” Baekhyun whined, holding the phone with his shoulder to button his jeans, “I said I wanted him to go public, but I didn’t mean for him to issue a statement so blatant.” 

He heard Luhan pull away from the phone to laugh harder, and Sehun vague in the background before Luhan spoke again, voice full of amusement. _“Hunnie said that he read the article and it’s basically like yeah the past year I’ve been taking care of my two kids and boyfriend, and that’s like it. The paparazzi are probably losing it!”_

“Oh, god.” Baekhyun groaned, “I only knew because Yifan texted me a bunch of laughing faces this morning and Jun just congratulated us as if he only just found out we were dating, idiot.” 

_“I am literally so amused right now. This is hilarious. Chanyeol is such a dick, but in a good way.”_

“The best way.” Baekhyun agreed with a giggle, “Okay. We’re going to the store now, I’ll talk to you later.” 

_“Sehun said we’re stealing the kids Thursday to take them to lunch.”_

Baekhyun smiled at that, extremely fond. “Tell him we added his name to their contacts at school so he can sign them out and bring them home after lunch. They’ll be happy to see you guys.” 

_“You guys are the best, please keep making such cute kids. Love you, I’ll talk to you later.”_

Baekhyun flushed all the way down his chest, at two things.

One, because Chanyeol's friends were extremely vocal about both them having sex and about him having more kids because they were so obsessed with the twins, loved them so much it was insane, and Baekhyun couldn't have asked for anything else but for people to love them. 

And he thought it was sweet that they wanted him to have more, probably because he was the only carrier out of all of them, and always told him how good a job he did raising them because the babies were so good - most of the time.

And two, because Chanyeol's - their friends - he corrected, we’re also not shy with affection at all, always letting him know that they were fond of him despite Baekhyun sometimes feeling out of the loop. 

He had even heard that Junmyeon and Minseok had been hanging out with them behind their backs and Chanyeol whined and whined about it because he wanted to know everything all the time.

“Love you too, bye.” He replied quietly, still slightly shy, and Luhan wasn’t at all so his cooing only made Baekhyun hang up on him. 

“Ready to go?” Chanyeol asked once Baekhyun walked out, offering his hand.

“Of course, lets go.” Baekhyun beamed, reaching down to grab Jongin's hand and then Chanyeol’s in his other hand.   
  


***  
  


Perhaps it was stupid on their part to try to go out so soon after releasing such huge news, but was it really too much to ask people not to take photos of them trying to eat? 

They were only out to eat a family dinner, Chanyeol claimed to celebrate their “newfound relationship” and Baekhyun thought his joke was hilarious and agreed only if he could choose where.

But neither of them really thought it through as it was becoming pretty annoying seeing paparazzi taking photos of them through the window of the restaurant and people waiting outside with cameras and microphones.

“Celebrity life?” Baekhyun asked with a snort, wiping Kyungsoo's cheek down as Chanyeol came back from paying.

“It was never like this before.” His boyfriend answered, already sounding more annoyed than Baekhyun was.

“Well, you did drop a bomb on them. Two kids, what a shock.” He teased, sending Chanyeol a smile to let him know he was just messing with him. 

Chanyeol snorted, lifting Jongin onto his hip and watching Baekhyun do the same to Kyungsoo, “I suppose. I honestly don’t care, it’s none of their business.”

At least the kids had zero idea of what they were talking about, neither toddler really seemed to care at all, especially not with full stomachs and with it nearing bedtime for them, just dozing off onto shoulders.

“Stay close, baby.” Chanyeol requested, sounding like his jaw was clenched, and Baekhyun knew why he was so mad - because it wasn’t the paparazzis business, but he didn’t feel they ruined much. They still had a very nice family dinner after all.

“Chanyeol! Park Chanyeol!”

“Do you want to give a statement about recent affairs?” 

Baekhyun suddenly understood his annoyance, cupping Kyungsoo's head to hide him in his jacket at the toddlers scared noise with all the people and lights flashing.

“Park Chanyeol, how old are the kids?” 

“You’re scaring them, please back off.” He heard Chanyeol request and a hand urging him to keep walking even though they were being followed. 

“What about Kim Jisoo! Will you comment on the scandal?”

“How did you manage to hide children all these years?” 

“Byun Baekhyun, are you aware of his past affairs?” 

At that, Chanyeol stopped in place and Baekhyun was forced to do the same, confused and bouncing Kyungsoo gently. 

“How the fuck do you know his name?” Chanyeol growled and Baekhyun hadn’t ever heard him quite this mad, never heard him cuss in front of the kids either even though Baekhyun was known to slip up. “That’s private information, leave him alone.” 

All at once more questions were being screamed, a woman just to Baekhyun's left shoving a microphone toward him, “Are you aware of his lack of loyalty?” 

Baekhyun was pretty mad now too, both because the kids were scared and because they didn’t know anything, knew nothing of Chanyeol at all and were trying to paint him as a cheater. 

“Get the cameras out of our faces.” Chanyeol ordered, shoving the microphone from Baekhyun's face and pulling his boyfriend towards the car, “You’re scaring children.” 

He passed Jongin off to Baekhyun once the smaller was buckling Kyungsoo in and Chanyeol stood with his back towards Baekhyun protectively the entire time, looking nothing short of pissed as he looked right at the reporters when Jongin cried loudly. “Don’t you have any boundaries? They're fucking toddlers! You can hound me like this, but not my family! This is ridiculous, leave them alone!” 

Baekhyun didn’t turn around to see if the reporters had backed off at all, but they did get slightly quieter, questions not quite as loud or forceful although they still threw them out despite that Chanyeol obviously wasn’t going to answer them. 

Chanyeol only slipped him the keys, letting him silently know he was driving and Baekhyun was positive it was because he didn’t want him to go near the reporters to get in the passenger seat, and he appreciated the thought. 

“Listen. I don’t know how the hell you found out his name, but if I find it written anywhere, I’ll sue you for invasion of privacy.” Chanyeol warned, firm and serious, “Don't fucking harass my family again. I mean it.” 

They didn’t know whether or not the paparazzi would again, most likely, but the next morning Baekhyun's phone was being blown up with links to articles from their friends; and the reports and videos of Chanyeol blowing up on the paparazzi were pretty funny even if Baekhyun didn’t like that he and the kids faces were all over the press.


	21. Soundproof Visit

Since the event not much has changed.

Baekhyun still walked to pick up the kids from school despite Chanyeol being a worry wort, being so dramatic and going as far as to claim they were going to get him his own car, which was wasteful when the school was literally around the corner.

Plus, he didn’t have any bad encounters again.

He would sometimes see pictures being taken of him, but other than that being creepy, it wasn’t as aggressive as last time.

So he carried on with his routine, going and picking up the kids, usually taking them to get a snack or the park for an hour or two, occasionally meeting up with one of their friends for a late lunch or early dinner, and all was fine.

But sometimes was pretty funny, a few days ago he had been at a grocery store while the kids were at school and a girl came up to him with such an awestruck expression it was hilarious.

Baekhyun wasn’t a celebrity, not like Chanyeol, and Yifan, not a model like Sehun and Yixing, not a singer like Jongdae or Luhan, he was just normal like Zitao, Junmyeon, and Minseok - all people that just worked average nine to five jobs and happened to know famous people.

But it felt really good to make people smile just by being seen. And, he hadn’t had any horrible experiences, usually just girls telling him he was pretty or occasionally saying they thought he and Chanyeol looked good together which felt really nice.

He didn’t mind talking to them at all as long as they kept boundaries with him, not asking hugely invasive questions because Baekhyun didn’t really know what to say the one and only time he got such an invasive question.

Honestly, the girl was just weird in general, but her coming up to him with a question about Chanyeol's dick size was just wildly inappropriate, and Baekhyun had promptly left the cafe without so much as getting the drink he paid for because he was so annoyed by the nerve of the girl.

It wasn’t like Chanyeol was someone huge either, he had seen Jongdae get hounded for photos when they were having lunch together much more than for Chanyeol, but apparently he was proven wrong because he had so many fans.

He hadn’t even really known because they never went in public that long, and if they did it was family places, not places people would look for who they thought to be a “handsome fuckboy producer.” An article's words, not Baekhyun's, but Chanyeol's Instagram that Luhan linked him to was pushing twenty million, so that was enough to almost make Baekhyun pass out.

Chanyeol only thought it was funny when Baekhyun ranted up a storm about not knowing shit about his celebrity status, and claimed he purposely didn’t say anything because Baekhyun had known who he was from the beginning, and because he didn’t want to force Baekhyun to like him just because he was popular.

Baekhyun could understand that, but it was just so weird to see their faces on news articles and magazines, but their friends acted like it was a contest of some sort, sending photos of new covers of them with a count of how many they found in the group chat.

He was always both flattered and embarrassed at Chanyeol’s texts about how pretty Baekhyun was or something of the sort, but thought the series of arguments when the others playfully agreed was funny because Chanyeol was really possessive even if he handled it well.

  
***

It had been such a long time Baekhyun had gone to Chanyeol's building, even longer since he rode a bus, but he was in a good mood and wanted to brighten up Chanyeol's so he was carrying his black grocery bag full of homemade food into the office.

“Hello. Is Chanyeol busy?”

“Mr. Park only takes appointments, sorry, you’ll have to call and schedule.” The man sitting at the desk didn’t bother even looking up and Baekhyun pursed his lips.

He walked closer to the desk then, resting his elbows on the counter and tried not to sound too annoyed, because he knew they were just doing their job and so many people must be coming to ask for Chanyeol. “I think for me he will make an exception.”

“I’m sorry, but Mr. Park-“ He looked up then, and if he didn’t look so scared for his job Baekhyun would have found his shock entertaining, “Oh my god. I’m so sorry. Of course you can go in, I’m so sorr-“

“It’s fine.” Baekhyun smiled softly, feeling guilty, “It’s okay. You're just working, it’s okay. I used to be a receptionist too.”

The man smiled with nothing but relief and Baekhyun waved his hand at him reassuringly as he stepped into the elevator once the receptionist unlocked it.

Chanyeol’s building was really nice, him and Yifan had it locked up tight which Baekhyun didn’t really understand why at first because they were just producers, but apparently people trying to steal music was a big deal.

“- no, I just completed the track-“

Baekhyun only eye smiled as he walked through Chanyeol's door, pressing his finger to his mouth in a promise to be quiet, and his boyfriend just looked at him shocked before extremely happy.

“Hey, I need to let you go.” He heard Chanyeol and only laughed quietly as he moved to the red couch on the corner, beginning to pull out the lunch boxes he made and arranging them on the table.

“An appointment just arrived, we’ll speak soon.”

Baekhyun snickered to himself at that, only waiting a second longer to hear Chanyeol's phone be placed down and the man’s heavy steps, “Hello.”

“Baby.” Chanyeol greeted, immediately huffing and throwing himself down on Baekhyun's side, wrapping long limbs around the smaller, “God, am I happy to see you. I hate everyone today, so annoying. They keep calling for interviews.”

Humming, Baekhyun turned to press a kiss to Chanyeol's ear, then cheek, “I brought you lunch.”

“You aren’t picking up the kids today?”

“Yixing said him and Jongdae would be picking them up and taking them to the park. I think Xing was just bored, so I thought it’d be nice to come spend time with you. I finished all my work and was bored.” Baekhyun explained, fishing for a fork out of the bag, “I brought Yifan food too, I should go give it to him.”

“And here I thought I was getting spoiled.” Chanyeol fake whined, pressing his head into Baekhyun's shoulder for attention, “How rude, you should only be nice to me.”

Baekhyun giggled, cupping Chanyeol's jaw to press a handful of kisses to his mouth, “I always spoil you, Chan.”

Chanyeol made a cute agreeing sound against his lips, pressing a few heated kisses before pulling away and looking nothing short of adoring, “I know, and I love you. How’d you get here, babe? Not that I’m not happy to see you because I am, I’m just curious.”

“Bus.”

“I despise that.” Chanyeol replied instantly, accepting his food with a happy noise.

“Would you rather I walked?” Baekhyun teased, pulling his feet up into the couch and leaning into Chanyeol's hip as he took a big bite of his sandwich.

“Would rather you took the car.” Chanyeol replied, pressing a kiss to his temple, “I just worry, you’re just so cute someone could snatch you up. You should take the car back, I’ll have Yifan drop me off later.”

“I’ll pick you up then.” Baekhyun cooed with a pretty smile, “Babies like to go on car rides anyways, they’ll probably be all hyper when we get them back so the car will calm them down.”

“Ugh, stupid Jongdae. I told him no more than two sweets, but then he overloads them and gives them back jumping eight feet in the air.”

Baekhyun burst into laughter at his boyfriends dramatics, but it was true, Jongdae tended to just give in to anything he thought the kids would like, giving them treats whether the twins asked for them or not.

“You act like you’re any better with sugar.” He pointed out.

Chanyeol gawked in offense, making Baekhyun snort at mayonnaise on his cheek, wiping it off with his thumb, “I’m a grown ass adult - I think I can overdose on sugar if I want!”

“Okay, settle down.” Baekhyun teased in a fake scold he used on the kids.

Chanyeol pouted to himself adorably, and Baekhyun giggled, laying his hand on his boyfriends thigh, and pressing his nose into Chanyeol's collarbone, working his way under his arm for attention.

His boyfriend beamed down at him, moving his sandwich to his other hand to rub Baekhyun's shoulder gently.

The smaller sighed contently, reaching for the remote to the television hanging on the wall.

This was probably where the twins became obsessed with cartoons, because before they were only watching old DVDs at Baekhyun's apartment, but here Chanyeol had cable so they explored a lot of kids shows, and it would be a lie to claim Baekhyun wasn’t just as obsessed with television shows now, often watching them with Chanyeol before bed.

“How much time do you have?” Baekhyun asked softly, running his hand over Chanyeol's slack covered knee.

“Mm, depends. I have an appointment in a few hours, but other than that I think it’s just phone calls. I’m debating on unplugging my entire phone because this is getting horrible. I’ll probably start redirecting all of the interview calls to my secretary next door because it’s so annoying.”

Baekhyun frowned, Chanyeol sounded so stressed out, and he knew how badly the man hated dealing with paparazzi ever since the event.

Chanyeol was so mad about it that he hadn’t gone to work for days, only doing his work in the office at home because he was so pissed off and didn’t want to go in public so soon after.

“Tired?” Baekhyun asked softly, sitting up on his knees to massage Chanyeol's temple sweetly.

“I’m not tired, baby, thank you though.” Chanyeol cooed, pressing a kiss to Baekhyun's forehead and placing his empty Tupperware on the table to hold Baekhyun's waist instead. “Not when I see your pretty face at least.”

Baekhyun scrunched his nose up at that, pressing their noses together and running his hand over Chanyeol's neck, “Love you, handsome.”

The way Chanyeol sighed against his cheek was nothing short of endearing, pressing his lips to Baekhyun's jaw. “And I love you, sweetheart.”

“Luhan says he loves me the most in the group chat.”

Chanyeol groaned in annoyance, so cute Baekhyun giggled. “Luhan’s a bullshit liar. I love you the most. Swear to god I’ll kick him out of the chat if he keeps lying.”

Baekhyun really loved to see Chanyeol jealous even if it was playful, because the man was just so handsome it wasn’t fair, and looked so good being possessive.

“Can you lock the door from here?” Baekhyun asked, pointing towards the little white remote on the table. He knew it was connected to the lights, but it had a little lock button on it.

Chanyeol raised a brow, but nodded his head, reaching over to hit the button, “Yeah? What for?”

Baekhyun waited for the door to click and smiled to himself, shimmying out of Chanyeol's arms, and dropping to his knees, pushing his boyfriends legs apart with a bright smile at his flustered expression. “Really fast?”

“Oh god.” Chanyeol muttered. “Oh, my god.” He added in a groan as Baekhyun's fingers trailed over his pants, “We don’t need to be fast, we have time. Fuck. You’re so hot, did I ever tell you that? You’re so sexy, look so good like this.”

“On my knees?” Baekhyun teased, taking his tongue between his teeth and fiddling with Chanyeol's zipper.

“I really can’t stand when you look so innocent when we both know that’s a dirty lie.”

Baekhyun merely stifled his laugh, grabbing the edge did Chanyeol's waistband to pull them and his boxers down over his thighs to sit on his knees, wrapping fingers around his half hard length. “Do I look innocent now?”

“Why the fuck do you look like that?” Chanyeol complained, curling his fingers into Baekhyun's curls and throwing his head back when the smaller pressed a kiss to his thigh, “It’s not allowed, Baekhyun.”

“You’re allowing it.” He teased, sticking his tongue out to run over Chanyeol's length.

He laid palms on Chanyeol's hips when the man bucked them into the warmth of his mouth with a moan, “Fuck yes I am. You look so good on me, baby. So good. You know I love seeing you like this.”

Oh Baekhyun did know that Chanyeol loved to see him on him in any possible capacity, not even just in the sexual way but just in general.

And he could fully relate to that sentiment because their size difference both made him feel protected, and also turned him on so much, made him want Chanyeol to fuck him at the most random of times.

Even like this, mouth around his boyfriend's erection, Baekhyun had to use his hands to stroke what he couldn’t fit in because Chanyeol was just huge, and it was so satisfying.

Out of all things they’ve tried Baekhyun could argue Chanyeol liked to see him like this second best to actually having sex just because he knew he must have looked fantastic, and Chanyeol had a huge thing for his mouth, his lips, and just him in general that made Baekhyun moan around his cock because his boyfriend always looked so fucking good like this.

His head tilted to the side and expression focused with a hand curling into the side of Baekhyun's hair, occasionally unable to control himself and bucking his hips up into Baekhyun's mouth and dragging a finger across his brow apologetically when he gasped for air.

It was just so nice to have Chanyeol all the time, whenever he wanted.

“Fuck. Fuck, just a little more, baby.” He heard Chanyeol groan and tore his eyes away from his boyfriends face to move a hand to Chanyeol's abs for something to steady him, eyes watering as he forced himself further, hands curling up into fists as he swallowed around the length.

“Oh - fuck, fuck-“ Baekhyun wanted to laugh, but settled on trying not to choke as his boyfriends seed filled his mouth, quickly pulling off with a loud gasp, laying his cheek down on Chanyeol's thigh to catch his breath. “God. You know I can’t fucking stand it when you pull that move.”

Baekhyun chuckled breathlessly, licking his lips and pressing them to Chanyeol's hip.

“You good?” His boyfriend asked sweetly, combing a hand over his cheek to rest on his chin, guiding their eyes together, “You okay, baby?”

Chanyeol was always so sweet to him even if Baekhyun literally asked him to fuck him into a wall, but he really liked to be handled sweetly after anything like this anyways. “Of course.”

“Good.” Chanyeol commented before his mouth was pulling into a smirk and he was lifting Baekhyun under his arms and earning an excited squeal, “Good because it's your turn, baby. God, I want to eat you out so bad now.”

Baekhyun laughed breathily at the words, lifting his hips from the couch for Chanyeol to remove his pants. “Please.”

Chanyeol didn’t even wait a second, dipping his head down to kiss at his inner thigh and looking up with a lustful smirk that Baekhyun knew meant he was probably going to need a nap after this orgasm. “Room is soundproof, babe. Just so you know.”


	22. Shaken & Sobbing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: I’m a Psychology Major, not Administration of Justice!

Chanyeol groaned and slammed the phone down on his receiver, checking the clock, still a few hours before Baekhyun would come pick him up.

Baekhyun had only just left in the first place, hair messy and tired from his hour nap in Chanyeol's lap, and Chanyeol would have been overjoyed if the smaller decided just to stay, but he had been adamant about letting Chanyeol get back to work.

It hadn’t mattered anyways because his appointment had called and canceled, and all he was getting now was phone interviews that annoyed him to death.

He just really wanted to go home and see the twins, see Baekhyun even though he had only just left an hour or two ago. 

So he was sulking, basically, because he still had a few hours of nothing but answering phone calls and being bored. 

Not even texting helped, because he remembered how cute Baekhyun looked as he walked out, eyes slightly droopy and lips still swollen - not that Chanyeol helped him get rid of them, of course not, he had only kept them that way with vigorous kisses. 

Chanyeol was just whipped, knew it, and had no issues at all with it. 

When he had a lot of alone time he just reminisced because a year and handful of months ago he was pining after the smaller without so much as a name and then nearly getting rejected. 

He honestly didn’t think Baekhyun would accept him back then, he was fully prepared to fight suitors to the death because he was so enamored by the pretty angel.

It seemed superficial now to think that he was originally interested in Baekhyun because of his looks, because he liked pretty things and he had never seen anything prettier - which was fully true. But he had also just been immediately interested in the small man with bags under his eyes, cheekbones protruding, and holes in his jacket.

Because that’s what Baekhyun did. He drew him in, and then just pulled his heart out and claimed it as his. 

He seemed to do it a lot, earning all of Chanyeol's friends love with basically just shy smiles and sometimes just because he was caring and never left anyone out - just as he had brought Yifan food that Chanyeol delivered a while ago. 

Baekhyun really didn’t need to be so kind, but he was, and Chanyeol loved him to death, and wasn't willing to let him go even though sometimes it was, admittedly, hard.

Especially in the beginning. It had been so extremely hard to try to find any time to even just see Baekhyun because of their busy schedules - mainly Baekhyun's - but it had been so worth it even just to see him for five minutes, driving from the opposite side of town just to turn around and take Baekhyun and the kids home on a ten minute ride.

And, even then, it had been so worth it to make sure Baekhyun and the kids got home safe, to witness how exhausted the man was but still how he put the prettiest of smiles on his face for Chanyeol. 

It was funny though, because originally all of Chanyeol's friends thought the hardest part for him would be trying to accept the kids, dealing with the fact that they weren’t his, but for Chanyeol that was the easiest part.

Even easier than falling in love with Baekhyun, which was so fast.

Because they were beautiful kids, so well behaved, and so sweet, already stealing his heart without so much as having to say a word. 

He just knew they were his. Knew he had to love these two kids that tripped over their own feet trying to push the broken down stroller. 

Kyungsoo who had the most raggedy of dolls he carried everywhere, but the sweetest heart shaped smile; Jongin who cried because his worn down light up shoes didn’t light up at all anymore, hadn’t for a long time, but didn’t dare ask Baekhyun for new ones because he knew it would make him feel bad.

Once Chanyeol’s friends met them, they could immediately see why too. He could remember after Yixing had met them, he tried calling him to ask for the kids sizes because he wanted to get them clothes that weren’t faded or obviously older, and Chanyeol could understand his train of thought, but at the time had to tell him not to because Baekhyun wouldn't like to think of them as some charity case. 

Because Baekhyun didn’t understand what friends were, just thought that if given something he had to give something back, and Chanyeol hated the reasoning for it so much - hated that Baekhyun didn’t want anyone’s help for the longest time because Chanyeol wanted to help them from the beginning, with no ulterior motive other than because he wanted to.

Chanyeol had even gotten in an argument with Yifan in front of all their friends about it before, because that's what friends did - they argued and worried - but Chanyeol was easily defensive of Baekhyun and the kids, and Yifan had sort of accused him of not taking good care of them.

It was very obvious one night that Baekhyun was dead on his feet, but wanted to come with Chanyeol to dinner with his friends, and it was pretty sad, one of the worst nights he could remember because it was when he realized Baekhyun needed serious help.

The smallers hands shaking as he ate, leaned against Chanyeol's shoulder, and had literally fallen asleep right then and there at the table, hand holding his fork. 

His bones stuck out so painfully back then, maybe three months into their relationship, and he was still having a hard time letting Chanyeol buy him food. 

So Chanyeol remembered how worried his friends looked at Baekhyun, and they were right to be worried because his jaw jutted out uncomfortably, and his skin was slightly grey - and he had passed right out in the middle of a crowded restaurant booth as if it wasn’t full of people being extremely loud. 

Now that he thought about it Yifan had probably been right to accuse him the next day, because he wished he did try harder back then to take care of Baekhyun, but he had been scared to push too hard with him, scared he would break up with him if he tried to invade his life too much. 

Chanyeol was just willing to do anything to make sure Baekhyun and the kids were always safe and healthy, spoiled and loved, because they deserved it so much.

His phone vibrated on the table, and he was more than happy to text Baekhyun back, reading over the series of spirastic texts of, “Babies said they miss you.” 

“Jongin added that he drew you a picture.” 

“I miss you, what do you want for dinner? Steak?” 

Chanyeol really liked when Baekhyun texted him a million times, because it reminded him of the smallers ranting style of explaining when he was talking about things he really liked. 

**“Whatever you like, baby. I was just thinking that I missed you guys too. Appointment cancelled, wish you stayed.”**

Their friends teased that the two were hopeless, and neither of them ever denied it, because it was so true.

_“Mr. Park, there’s a call for you on line one.”_

Chanyeol sighed at his secretary, only tossing his phone down rather anxiously as he eyed the typing bubbles that meant Baekhyun was writing something back.

“Hello, Park Chanyeol. What can I do for you?” 

_“Chanyeol.”_

He frowned and laughed slightly, “Jun? Hey, what’s up, you could have called my cell.” 

_“Sorry. Didn’t know if you used it at work.”_

Something about Junmyeons tone screamed that he wasn’t calling to joke back and forth as usual, but it was urgent. 

“Hey, man. You good? Everything okay?” He questioned, holding the phone to his ear and reaching for his cell vibrating on the table.

_“Hey… uh, I really need you to come by.”_

“Right now?” Chanyeol asked softly.

_“Chanyeol… I got a letter with Baekhyun's name on it, I need you to come over.”_

Junmyeon didn't sound like Chanyeol had any other option, and suddenly Chanyeol was extremely worried, looking over Baekhyun's response of, “I’m making steak then!” And a series of heart emojis followed by a pouty one and a, “Do you want me to pick you up early? I love and miss you so much! I want you to come home quickly, I’m impatient, Chan!” 

_“It… it’s addressed from a prison, Chanyeol. I- I really need to come tell you some things, like… as soon as possible.”_

And Chanyeol's thumb was hitting the call button on his cell just as he was replying a rushed, “I’ll be there as soon as I can, getting a taxi now.” And hanging up on Junmyeon.

 _“Chanyeol!”_ Baekhyun sounded so excited Chanyeol hated to burst his bubble.

“Hey, I’m really sorry, baby. I just got an urgent call, so I’m going to have to take a taxi home later tonight. I’m so sorry, I’ll be home as soon as possible, promise.” 

_“Oh.”_ Baekhyun whispered and Chanyeol felt horrible as he gathered his jacket from the rack and started rushing towards the elevator, _“That’s okay, I just… the twins wanted to watch a movie with you.”_

Chanyeol rubbed his temple because he wouldn’t want to be doing anything else but coddling the twins either, “We’ll have a whole movie day tomorrow, I swear. I’ll pick up snacks and everything on my way home, I’m really sorry, baby. Tell the twins I’m really sorry and I’ll try to be back for bedtime.” 

Baekhyun made a happy noise at that, sounding much more bright. _“I want to watch Nemo, lets watch Finding Nemo and Finding Dory.”_

“God. I love you so much. I’ll be home really fast, cupcake. Tell the twins I love them and give them lots of kisses for me.” 

  
***

Junmyeons house was cute, Chanyeol had never really been inside it before, but it was very comfortable, and so lived in it was nice. He even had a little toy box in the corner and knew that he had a room for the twins down the small hallway too.

“Chanyeol, thank god. You got here really fast.” 

“What is it? Did you open it? I see it opened.” Chanyeol demanded quickly, unable to handle the anxiety building up as it had the entire ride home.

Junmyeon threw his hand out to stop Chanyeol from grabbing it, and they both knew it was illegal to open someone else’s mail, but he couldn’t blame Junmyeon for opening it when it was addressed to Baekhyun from a _prison._

“We need to talk first, sit down.” Junmyeon demanded, pulling out a dining room chair and rather roughly shoving Chanyeol's arm. 

He didn’t blame the man, they were both on edge, and he could see Minseok nervously fiddling with a glass in the kitchen and knew even he knew what was going on. 

“Baekhyun doesn’t know anything, okay? And apparently we can’t keep it that way, so I think it’s better if you talk to him.” Junmyeon began.

Chanyeol sighed and already had his hands shaking with nerves. “Why me?”

“Because he trusts you the most. He’ll feel better… protected if he hears it from you.” Minseok answered from the kitchen. 

Chanyeol only gulped, nodding in acceptance because it was true, he always protected Baekhyun.

“His ex, Kim Youngmin.” Junmyeon began, shaking his leg and it wasn’t calming at all whatsoever, “I’ve been following his case just because you know… I worry, and I have a rightful reason to. But Baekhyun just… he doesn’t want to hear anything, but what I tell you you’ll have to tell him. Probably much nicer than I tell you because I don’t care to bullshit you when you and I both know we’re in some shit.” 

Minseok was suddenly walking over to give Chanyeol a glass of water and he didn’t even realize when he started sweating, but it wasn’t because he was hot, he was just nervous.

“He… the night Baekhyun went to the hospital was because of a head injury, that’s true, but he had prolonged oxygen deprivation to the brain - he was in a coma three days after.” 

“He… he strangled him?” Chanyeol really needed to pull himself together because he knew this was only the beginning, but it was so painful. Hurt so bad because he only wanted Baekhyun to be safe.

“Yes.” Junmyeon winced, and his voice was a little calmer just because Chanyeol already sounded near tears, “But when he woke up he wouldn’t go against him in Court, which… is understandable, but he filled out an incident report, and we helped him leave… but… since we didn’t really have him to be in Court…” 

“He got off easy.” Chanyeol sighed, throwing his entire back against the wood chair, “Don't tell me he got off easy.” 

“He did… for Baekhyun's case.” Minseok answered, laying palms on Junmyeons shoulders, “They couldn't prosecute with only a few photos and a hasty summary.”

“That’s bullshit.” Chanyeol growled, hands tightening on his jeans, “He’s a domestic abuse victim, of course he’s fucking scared to stand trial and tell the truth after being conditioned not to speak up for so long. He’s fucking afraid to face him, photos and goddamn hospital records should be enough.” 

Junmyeon smiled slightly, but Chanyeol was too upset to appreciate the approving look when he normally would be excited to know he impressed Baekhyun's brother. “But they got him a few months later. He… Baekhyun never really mentioned anything, but Youngmin was caught with a shit ton of cocaine, and was already under radar for breaking probation and assaulting a man.” 

“That’s why you don’t let aggressive people get off.” Chanyeol couldn't even control himself, knew his entire body was red with rage and his muscles tensed, “Should have fucking put him in jail when it was obvious, the system failed Baekhyun.” 

“Baekhyun doesn't know, Chanyeol.” Minseok whispered, voice soft as if approaching an injured animal, “Just… just calm down for a second and remember that these are things Baekhyun has no idea about at the moment, these things aren’t why you’re here right now. Just take a breath.” 

In other words, he wanted Chanyeol to calm down because this wasn’t the worst of news, that it had yet to come. 

“This is why you’re here.” Junmyeon muttered, grabbing the envelope, “Youngmin is serving a thirty year sentence for his involvement in drug trade and assault at a federal prison thirty minutes from here. But… I- fuck, I don’t know how to tell you this.” 

Chanyeol couldn't have grabbed the letter faster, fingers shaking. 

“He got an attorney.” Minseok mumbled, “Chanyeol… he… he's requesting a paternity test on the twins, Baekhyun has to go see him.” 

And Chanyeol felt like throwing up, leaning over his lap to bury his face into his knees to cry, “I’ll… I'll pay the fine, he can’t go.” 

“It’s a Court order, Chanyeol.” Junmyeon murmured, and his hand reached out to rub Chanyeol's shoulder even though it wasn’t comforting at all at the moment, “You can’t. He has to do it, he has to take the kids to get tests done, or go ask him to have his attorney revoke the order. He could get arrested if he doesn’t show up by that date.” 

“How.. how would he even know about them? He should have no idea, it’s impossible.” 

Minseok sighed, kneeling down to pat the man’s hair, “Chanyeol. You guys were just all over the news… they have papers in prison, honey.” 

Chanyeol released a sob then, unable to control himself as he sniffed and sat up, lip trembling, “It was my fault? I-it was my fault…”

Junmyeon only smiled apologetically, reaching out to grab his hand and Chanyeol couldn't recall ever crying so hard in his entire life.


	23. Sour & Sweet

Baekhyun smiled and texted Chanyeol back instantly, climbing to his feet to unlock the door for the man and jumping back onto the couch, peering over with a huge grin as he waited.

He probably looked just like the twins that usually stood on the couch and waited for Chanyeol to acknowledge them, hands reaching over the back and shaking with excitement.

He heard the elevator open outside the door and smiled brightly as Chanyeol started opening the door, “I left dinner on the table for you!” He chirped, pressing his cheek down on the back of the couch and reaching his hand out for the man.

Chanyeol didn’t give him a response, and he couldn’t see his face because he was pointedly looking at the ground as he walked over to the back of the couch, throwing his arms around Baekhyun's neck and burying his nose into the smallers hair. “I love you.”

“I love you.” Baekhyun responded happily, nearly standing on the couch in order to wrap arms around Chanyeol's waist, “Aren't you tired? Hungry? Jongin left his picture next to your food because he said you had to see it first thing.”

Chanyeol muffled a laugh into his hair, and then Baekhyun heard him sniffle, and frowned in concern, trailing his hands over the curves of his muscled back, “Chanyeol? You okay?”

“I just love you guys, baby. You know that? Right? I love you all so much.”

Baekhyun whimpered a concerned noise, forcing himself to sit back on his heels to cup Chanyeol's face between both hands, “Oh, Chanyeol. What’s wrong? Why are you crying? I love you. Of course we love you so much.”

He watched the man gulp, and frowned deeper when Chanyeol walked away only to walk around the couch to sit down, opening his arms immediately.

He looked at him with the offering look he did when Baekhyun needed comfort, but Baekhyun wasn’t the one crying at the moment so he knew it was only because Chanyeol wanted to hold him.

So he was crawling over immediately, throwing his knees on either side of Chanyeol's thighs and cupping his face again to try and brush away his tears, but it wasn’t working at all, not even the slightest bit.

“Chanyeol. Chan, please, what’s wrong?” He cooed, running fingers across his stumbled jaw and trying to catch all his tears, “Babe, please tell me what’s wrong, I’m so worried.”

Chanyeol’s arms tightened on his waist then, pulling them flush together and kissing Baekhyun's forehead softly, “I messed up, Baek.”

“No.” Baekhyun soothed softly, thumb rubbing his cheek, “No. You didn’t, you couldn’t, honey. We’re fine, Chanyeol. I love you and you love me, we love the twins, and everything is perfectly fine.”

Chanyeol shook his head then, gently grabbing Baekhyun's hands and pulling them from his face, “Baekhyun. I’m so sorry, okay? I’ll… i'll explain, but I’m so sorry, just know that.”

Baekhyun could tell, there’s no other reason the man would come in so tearfully other than he felt so bad about something.

“I got… I mean, your mail got forwarded to Junmyeons.” Chanyeol began, pushing up the edge of Baekhyun's shirt and running fingers over his skin to comfort himself.

“I guess I forgot to change the address.” Baekhyun whispered, still looking so concerned, “You saw something? I can’t… I don’t think I have anything that should be so concerning, honey.”

“I know you don’t, sweetheart.” Chanyeol sighed, placing a small smile on his face, “My little angel, it’s nothing you did.” He soothed, “I- well, Junmyeon called me, he told me to come quickly…”

Baekhyun just nodded, mouth slightly parted in concern as Chanyeol sniffed, looking near tears again.

“I know you don’t want to know, but… your ex, he’s in prison.” Baekhyun's entire body stiffened up, “And he will be there for a long time, but… some things we can’t hide, and I…”

“The kids.” Baekhyun muttered, slowly moving off Chanyeol's lap, “He wants something with the kids? Show me, Chanyeol, what is it?”

Chanyeol choked a sob at Baekhyun's urgency, and licked his bitten lips, digging in his pocket for the letter. “He got an attorney, he wants a DNA test on the kids, so… we either have to give it, or you need to go speak to him, and I don’t know which option is worse, Baekhyun. I’m so… I’m so stupid - he probably saw your photos in the news, I’m so… this is all my fault…”

Baekhyun was only half paying attention, eyes only catching on phrases like PATERNITY, COURT ISSUED ORDER, REQUEST FOR PARENTAL RIGHTS UNDER A COURT ISSUED DNA TEST.

It wasn’t even a question what choice Baekhyun had to make, he wouldn’t allow the children to have to go get tests done when he already knew that they were Youngmin’s children - genetically only.

There was no point in pretending they weren’t because it would just go around and around until they had to be tested anyways.

“Chanyeol… can.. am I allowed to bring someone with me?”

“I think so.” Chanyeol whispered, gently grabbing the paper to toss on the table and wrapping arms around Baekhyun's shoulders, “Are you scared?”

Baekhyun took a big breath and wasn’t crying because he was mainly just pissed off. Youngmin didn’t even like children as far as he could remember, so there was no reason for him to want proof the kids were his.

He was just so mad. So pissed off it was unreal. “No. I’m mad.”

“Me too.” Chanyeol replied, pulling Baekhyun's hips back onto his thighs, “Me too, baby. It’s so unfair, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.” Baekhyun murmured, resting his temple on Chanyeol's chest with a deep breath, “I’m not scared of him anymore.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” He whispered, “As long as you’ll be there, I think I can do it. I’ll do anything for the kids, even this.”

Chanyeol smiled slightly despite still crying silently, pressing a kiss to his hair and rubbing his hip, “You're stronger than me, baby. You might not think so, but I do.”

Baekhyun really didn’t think that was true, but he liked to hear such things, relaxing completely and dragging Chanyeol's arm around his back to hold him tighter, make him feel safer as he pressed his forehead into Chanyeol's jaw and wrapped his arm around his boyfriend's waist, “It’s not your fault by the way. It just… things were meant to be like this and we have to deal with it, that’s okay.”

“It makes my skin itch.” Chanyeol muttered into his hair, “To know that you’ll have to see him again. I’m so sorry, Baekhyun. I’d never wish for you to have to, ever.”

“Just stay by me.” The smaller requested shakily, “Stay with me and I’ll be fine.”

“Always, angel.”

  
***

“Ice cweam?” Kyungsoo awed, jumping in place as Chanyeol tried to zip up his jacket, only making the man laugh and pull the toddler closer.

“I don’t know if uncle Yifan has ice cream, you’ll have to ask him to check, baby.”

Baekhyun snickered at the wide eyed pout Kyungsoo fixed Chanyeol with then, very unapproving of his words apparently.

Turning to continue packing some toys into a backpack as he watched Jongin very meticulously pick out clothes from the clean laundry basket when it really didn’t matter as they’d be with Yifan one night, even less if they got back earlier.

Their visitation appointment wasn’t until six, but given traffic around that time it was pushing an hour drive, and they had no idea how long things would take, because as expected neither of them had gone to a prison before.

It wasn’t that Baekhyun was nervous to have to go through a prison, it was the unknowing part of him that was scared because he knew how Youngmin was, and there was no fathomable reason Baekhyun could come up with for him to want to see him and test the kids other than to just torment him.

So he, in a way, felt cornered again because he had only two options and one of them involved unnecessarily having to put the kids through blood tests and he wasn’t willing to scare them like that, Jongin already hated shots as is, he would lose his marbles over getting blood taken.

“Daddy, no come?”

“No, little prince, we told you guys that we had some stuff to do. Grown up stuff, not for our babies.” He heard Chanyeol answer, a slight sigh in his tone and Baekhyun knew the man was way more stressed than even he was.

He couldn’t imagine how Chanyeol must feel about the situation, only having just gotten legal rights to the kids a few months ago, and now having to deal with such bullshit.

If Chanyeol had an ex so horrible, Baekhyun was likely to lose his shit, and he wasn’t really a fighter, but he would beat the shit out of someone that hurt Chanyeol the ways Youngmin had hurt him; and Chanyeol was just as, if not way more, protective of Baekhyun, so he knew the man’s anxiety levels were rising the closer they got to finishing packing the kids things.

“Jongin, what snacks do you want to bring? You want fruit?” Baekhyun asked, patting the toddlers hair as he walked past him towards the kitchen to grab a few ziplocks.

He was waiting for Chanyeol to tell him not to worry about it, that Yifan already had snacks and food for them, because that’s what his boyfriend always did, always reminding him of such things. But Baekhyun saw him peek over Kyungsoo's head and tilt his head like he was going to, but only shared a look with him that let him know he knew what he was doing and agreed.

Because that’s what they’d been doing the past hour, stalling.

Stalling all morning actually, because even when they woke up, Baekhyun just held Chanyeol's waist for hours, neither of them saying anything because they were both worried and knew each other too well to mention it aloud.

It was a bit inconvenient that Chanyeol knew him so well, because it was harder to pretend when the man knew his normal actions versus his anxious ones.

“Um!” Jongin chirped, dragging the pair of plaid pajama pants in his hand all over the ground as he skipped into the kitchen, “Fwuit no, that for mommy! Want fishes! Soo like too.”

“Kyungsoo doesn’t like goldfish you little sneak.” Baekhyun chuckled, reaching down to pick Jongin up and seat him on the counter in front of him to Velcro his shoes on correctly because a three year old really didn’t have any idea, “And what do you mean the fruit is mine, you eat it all up anyways! Look at those little cheeks, all from stealing all the fruit!”

Jongin only giggled with a scrunched nose and hair blocking his eyes, kicking his feet to himself.

It was true though, but slightly sad, that the twins had gotten so much healthier looking in the months they had been living with Chanyeol.

It wasn’t that Baekhyun had neglected feeding them by any means, not in a million years, never had the kids gone hungry, but the foods they were being given now were just so much better for them, healthier for them.

Healthy foods were expensive, even more so all the fresh meat Chanyeol kept stocked up in the freezer, and the vegetables and fruit Baekhyun had asked for once just never seemed to lessen because when it hit close he would find the fridge restocked.

Chanyeol really hadn’t been kidding about making sure the fridge was stocked at all times, and Baekhyun wasn’t afraid at all to write their list of necessities and groceries on the white board on the fridge.

The healthy flush and excess energy the more expensive meats and vegetables gave the kids really was worth it, and Baekhyun himself felt so much better too. Chanyeol reminded him of how cute he was with his cheeks rounding out everyday, and he liked it too, mainly because he liked Chanyeol's praise in any form.

“Babe…” Baekhyun sighed and didn’t want to turn around even though Chanyeol's arms were wrapping around his back, the man reaching over his shoulder to tap Jongin's nose playfully. “We need to leave soon.”

“I hate it.” Baekhyun whispered, pulling the toddler off the counter to scurry away and turning around to rest his palms on Chanyeol's chest, “Chan.”

“I know.” His boyfriend sighed, combing his hair from his face and pressing a barely there kiss to Baekhyun's temple, “Me too, babe. Hate it so much, but let’s get it over with.”

Baekhyun nodded reluctantly, fingers tightening on Chanyeol's button down and standing on his toes for a kiss, one that was granted to him quickly, gently.

He knew Chanyeol could feel the tension radiating off of him just as he could feel Chanyeol's in his kiss, and only pulled him closer.

“Ew!” He heard Kyungsoo screech and then moments later both twins were screeching in disgust.

“Mommy daddy kiss, ew!”

It felt like a lot of tension mellowed out then, feeling Chanyeol laugh against his lips and following his laughter with his own giggles when they pulled apart.

“Okay you little monsters, I guess you don’t want mommy and daddy kisses anymore at all, if it’s so gross!” Baekhyun cried, raising his brow teasingly as he leaned over Chanyeol's side to address the two gremlins.

Instantly both were whining, Jongin's stomp let him know he didn’t like the joke at all.

“Nooo! Kiss!” Kyungsoo requested with pouting lips, little hands holding the top of an island stool to try to get up.

Baekhyun just snorted at how fast Chanyeol was turning around to give in, but he wasn’t much better so he had no room to talk.


	24. Seeking Shelter

Prisons were scary to say the least. Dark, dull, and dead, they were literally something out of a nightmare.

Chanyeol thought so immediately, and he could tell Baekhyun was getting more and more worked up the further in they went.

Getting patted down as they entered really didn’t help, and having to lock all their keys and other objects in a metal cubby certainly wasn’t fun.

“Chan.” Baekhyun was tugging on his sleeve then, pressing himself into his side but not looking at Chanyeol, just staring at the uniformed guards leading them to visiting rooms, “What's he in for?”

He didn’t really know why Baekhyun cared to know, but he laid a gentle hand on the back of Baekhyun's neck to rub his head, “Thirty years for drug trade and assault.”

And Baekhyun just nodded without really any expression, which wasn’t reassuring at all because the smaller probably knew way more than he was leading on to know. Nobody would just accept so easily that someone they had once been in an, admittedly horrible, relationship with was locked up.

Maybe it was just because Baekhyun already knew Youngmin was aggressive so the assault wasn’t anything new, but the drug trade Baekhyun had only said he knew he did bad things, never elaborating.

“Table four, hands and feet on one side of the table please.” Chanyeol nodded politely at the guard but literally felt the moment Baekhyun was going to turn and run.

The smallers entire body stilled, Chanyeol could feel his hair standing on edge, but his reaction wasn’t what he thought.

Baekhyun was letting go of his shirt to tangle his own fingers together, dropping his entire head as he walked towards a table, and Chanyeol had no idea which inmate was Youngmin because they were all dressed in the same blaring orange, but Baekhyun was shuffling over immediately.

His reaction just made Chanyeol want to knock Youngmin's teeth out even more, it was so submissive and screamed afraid even if Baekhyun was adamant he wasn’t.

“Look at you, sweet cheeks. Just as hot as I recall, could lose some weight though, you know I always hated that fucking roundness. You look so much better with a sharper jaw, you just look lazy now.”

Chanyeol never knew what Youngmin looked like, and it was obvious Baekhyun had a type for larger men, and Youngmin was admittedly a handsome looking man - if he wasn’t a egotistical son of a bitch, Chanyeol couldn't believe he hadn’t gotten booked for domestic abuse when these were the first words out of his mouth.

“Don’t fucking talk to him.” Chanyeol growled, laying a hand on Baekhyun's back because he didn’t respond at all, “He wouldn’t be here if he didn’t have to be, cut the shit.”

Youngmin had a smirk, but as soon as Chanyeol was speaking up his nose flared and the chains that held his hands down on the metal picnic table rattled like he was trying to restrain himself, “Oh yes, my bitch got himself a rich prick - thought they weren’t your type, hot stuff, always said you didn’t sleep with uptight assholes. Tell me, how’s he? Fucking whore.”

Chanyeol's hands clenched on the table then, and he had so many things he wants to do, but Baekhyun's hand slid on his knee and he knew reaching over to slam a man’s head into the table wasn’t the best decision when they were in a prison, “Hey, asshole. Don’t talk to him, you’re talking to me.” He growled, “I don’t have time for lowlife drug addicts so say your fucking point so we can leave.”

“Then why are you with him?” Youngmin snorted, leaning back so far he looked right on the edge of his seat, but looked so amused, “Sugar really liked the fast stuff, huh? A good needle? Always provided for you, right, candycane?”

“I-I didn’t.” Baekhyun wasn’t even looking at Youngmin, but squeezing Chanyeol's thigh with begging eyes, “Didn’t, I never.”

“Ah, Don't make me puke with those eyes, we can all tell a little boost was needed for that dull personality.” Youngmin cooed, clicking his tongue and turning his head like he was trying to get Baekhyun to look right at him.

Chanyeol didn’t believe a word Youngmin said as he’d been lying the moment they sat at his table, and never once was he led to believe Baekhyun had done anything of the sort. He had zero track marks or anything too, and Chanyeol would know because he knew Baekhyun's skin so well. “Shut the fuck up. You’re the one chained down here, we could up and leave anytime we fucking want.”

“Lover boy has a temper!” Youngmin cried like it was hilarious, “Funny, you seem to have a thing for getting fucked up and then fucked, cookie. Good choice in men.”

Chanyeol’s entire face was burning and the only thing that was keeping him from not doing shit was the fact that Baekhyun was a million times more uncomfortable than he was, and because they had a reason to be here.

Before he could defend Baekhyun, the smaller was already standing up and laying palms on the table, “Chanyeol isn’t you!” He screamed and all his veins were sticking out, “He’d never lay a hand on me - not like you! I can tell on your face right now you want to hit me, what? Rip my hair out? Give me a black eye? Don’t try to make yourself feel better for what you’ve done!”

Youngmin looked rightfully shocked, and Chanyeol felt it too, only reaching out to gently pull Baekhyun back into his seat when a guard called for him to sit back down or they’d be escorted out.

It was so obvious Baekhyun was more affected by things in the past than he led on about, and Chanyeol was proud he was so defensive of him, but wished he would get so worked up over the accusations about himself instead.

Baekhyun really wasn’t like that though, he really mainly just cared about what others thought or about others' reputations, but Chanyeol was offended Youngmin even tried to insinuate them to be the same.

Youngmin whistled lowly and Baekhyun was breathing heavy and still avoiding the man’s eyes, searching for Chanyeol's hand under the table. “My, my. You know that really gets me going, kitty cat. I really fucking hate when you raise your voice, your boy toy obviously isn’t showing you your place.”

Chanyeol has zero clue how he had gotten off for domestic violence if he was this narcissistic, he didn’t even seem to give two fucks that there were guards in all corners of the rooms, blatantly admitting to all the abuse and more, not once denying a thing with an ego so big - because he didn’t see anything wrong with his actions, and there were so many fucking things wrong.

He couldn’t understand how Baekhyun had gotten involved with this man in the first place, even with a smile and if he changed his attitude his eyes were nothing but a fucking lions, trying to manipulate his prey right in front of his eyes.

And Baekhyun looked completely like a cowering deer despite looking angry, because he was still avoiding looking directly at the man and that’s what Youngmin's obvious goal was, to have them meet eyes, there was no other reasoning to his straightened neck so he could literally look down on Baekhyun and he kept moving around his head anytime Baekhyun moved, the only time his eyes left the smaller was to flick to Chanyeol with nothing but heated jealousy in his gaze.

It was literally like watching an animal get caged in, except it was a person, a very, very shaken up person who also happened to be Chanyeol's favorite, absolute favorite person in the world. And it was unfair because he just wanted to beat the man’s face in because god knew he fucking deserved it.

“Okay, sugar, since you look so upset I’ll cut to the chase, hm?” And it was like Youngmin was a different person entirely, but his eyes were the same even if Chanyeol seemed to be the only one who noticed because Baekhyun sat up from his side with a head nod immediately, “The kids on the news, they're mine, right, cookie? Of course they are, pretty boy, huh? Just tell me and it’s fine.”

“Don’t talk to him like that.” Chanyeol snapped, completely leaning over Baekhyun's lap to catch Youngmin's eyes, “Don’t try to act like you weren’t insulting him seconds ago you psychotic fuck.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Youngmin was such a good liar that Chanyeol could see how Baekhyun believed things he said to him, because he looked so convinced with his own words it would be easy for someone so doubting of themselves, so confused and scared to just immediately believe him.

“Look. I already know those kids are mine, you know. So unless sweet cheeks over here is going to admit to taking another dick when we’re together, which I wouldn’t be so surprised about, he's not the most loyal just so you know, muscles. Then we already know the kids ages fit exactly when we were together. They’re mine.”

“They’re mine.” This entire time Chanyeol hadn’t felt this angry, and his anger since sitting down had been pushing the top of his gauge, “One thing to get straight is those kids are my kids. They’re mine. I don’t give two fucks what your deranged mind thinks, they’re both mine, Baekhyun is mine, and you’re going to rot in jail like the piece of shit you are. Baekhyun, lets go.”

He knew they couldn’t, but he was so pissed right now he couldn’t even fathom doing anything but getting the fuck out of there.

“They… they’re three years and four months.”

“Baekhyun.” Chanyeol whispered under his breath, laying his hand on his own forehead because he didn’t know what to do.

“They might… genetically be yours.” He heard Baekhyun's voice as just a whisper, “But… everywhere else they’re Chanyeol's. They’re not yours, Youngmin.”

“You said they were mine.” And that’s all he had to hear from Youngmin to sit straight up again because there was an underlying reason for his smug tone. “Genetics are more important, if my attorney tests those kids they’re going to be mine. I want to see them.”

“Absolutely not.” Those words were on the tip of Chanyeol's tongue, but it was Baekhyun that was hissing. “You’re a maniac that thinks it’s fun to break people's ribs, there’s no way I’ll bring our children here to see you. You couldn't even sit in a room with me for an hour without saying something horrible or making me bruise, there’s no telling what the fuck you’ll say to two little kids. You’re crazy.”

Baekhyun was standing up shakily then, trying to get over the picnic table, but his knees were weak so Chanyeol could only wrap an arm around his waist awkwardly because he was still sitting down.

“It doesn’t matter what you think.” Youngmin commented then, tone so snake-like Baekhyun froze, “My attorney will be filing custody claims soon and they’ll force visitation. You can still have parental rights in prison, don’t you know, sugar?”

“You aren’t legally their parent - you have zero rights.” Chanyeol snarled, standing up just as fast as Baekhyun had been trying to, because he saw Baekhyun's entire face pale.

“They’re my blood. It gives me rights, and Baekhyun just admitted they were.”

“You have a thirty year jail time, why the fuck would you want to see two kids? They don’t even fucking know who you are.” Chanyeol continued, pulling Baekhyun under his jacket as if he could protect him, but he couldn’t from this, and that stung.

Youngmin only laughed, “Gets boring here, plus, if the kids come I’ll get to see his fine ass all the time. Still remember all the fun we had, candy cane? I know you do.”

Chanyeol thought that sounded like a bullshit lie, there must be another reason for him suddenly wanting to involve himself. But, he couldn’t respond when he felt warmth through his shirt and all at once felt all of Baekhyun's body weight start sinking, and Chanyeol's eyes got wide as he frantically scooped up the smaller, “Baek. Fuck, baby. Baekhyun.”

“Fuck. I need some water! Someone get me some water!”

Chanyeol really didn’t care that Youngmin was laughing, because Baekhyun was still in his arms, passed out cold and he couldn’t help thinking that this was all his fault.

***

“Hey, babe. My love, how do you feel? Better?”

Baekhyun's head was pounding, and he tried to sit up on his elbows, but felt like their entire room was moving.

“Just lay down, stay down, honey.” Chanyeol soothed, his boyfriend reaching over to rest a hand on his cheek, rubbing his skin softly, “Shh. Just go back to sleep.”

“Medicine?” Baekhyun groaned under his breath, throwing his arm over his eyes and falling back into the pillows. He could feel the silk of their sheets against his bare skin and would normally thing it was very sweet of Chanyeol to change him while he slept, but he wasn’t asleep, he had been passed the fuck out.

“Of course - yes, let me get you some, baby.”

He felt the bed rock slightly as Chanyeol jumped up, and it made him acknowledge the way his stomach felt so full of anxiety, “Where’s the twins?”

“At Yifans, remember?” Chanyeol cooed, sounding far away even though he was just in the corner of the room, “I called and let them know we would get them sometimes tomorrow, but maybe a bit later. I gave them lots of love and said mommy was sleeping right now, which you should be.”

Baekhyun just sighed, muffling an acknowledging noise, but just rolling onto his side to pull his knees up, eyeing Chanyeol when he passed him a few pills and a glass of water from the side table.

“You really should.” Chanyeol added, accepting the glass back from Baekhyun's hand and laying down, tossing his arm over Baekhyun's back and running his fingers over the smallers bare spine, “Get some sleep, baby. You’ve been through a lot today.”

“Not the worst yet.” Baekhyun whispered, scooting closer to curl into Chanyeol's shirt, pushing his leg between the much larger man’s and hiding his face under his chin.

He felt Chanyeol take a deep breath and press a few kisses to his ear, “We don’t need to talk about this right this second.”

“He’s trying to t-take the kids.”

“Oh, baby. Shh, it doesn’t matter, he can’t. I’ll get us an attorney, sweetheart. Don’t cry, you’re going to give yourself a headache, my love.”

Baekhyun couldn't stop, fingers clammy as he wrapped them around Chanyeol's waist and pulled his boyfriend closer, practically over the top of him. “C-Chanyeol, I want you to… to protect me, I’m s-scared.”

Chanyeol sniffed into his shoulder then, burying his nose into Baekhyun's skin and pressing a kiss to his shoulder, choked up because he already knew Baekhyun was scared, hell, he was scared, but Baekhyun always denied he was - and he just really wished he denied it right now.

“I know. I-I’m going to figure it out, babe. Just sleep, just go to sleep, I love you. L-Love you so much, so sorry.”


	25. Passing Time

_“Chanyeol, I’m telling you, I am a lawyer and what he’s doing is technically not illegal. He has an attorney, there’s not much else that can be done, I’m so sorry. I’m looking into what our options are, but… so far we just have to build a case as to why he’s a danger to the children’s well-being even in short visits.”_

Chanyeol clenched his entire jaw and reached out to shove a container of pens off the edge of his desk, absolutely raging even though he knew Junmyeon was trying his best, “He’s a convicted felon, I think that’s obvious reason enough for being a bad influence on two three year olds.” 

_“Supervised visitation petitions can only max up to an hour twice a week, so we can push for maybe half hour once a wee-“_

“Not at all. We don’t fucking want him in the kids lives.”

Junmyeon sighed so hard Chanyeol felt horrible for being so hard on him, but they were all around fucked. _“I understand that. But… there’s no real bright side at the moment, except for the fact that the petition hasn’t been approved yet, so the kids don’t have to start seeing him until it’s approved, and they’ll probably only start with small time periods, maybe once a week - I’m going to try pushing for the petition to be no more than once a week, but Chanyeol… we might have to take it to Court.”_

“I don’t care. I’ll pay whatever so he doesn’t get to see the twins or Baekhyun ever again. He’s been having nightmares, Junmyeon. He hasn’t ever had nightmares the entire time I’ve been with him, and he’s not.. he’s not eating, he keeps forgetting to take his medicine. This is dangerous, and I won’t let him regress when he’s come so far. So I’ll pay whatever, just fax me the bills and I’ll have them paid instantly.”

He heard Junmyeon sigh and was so tired, just of everything the past two weeks.   
  


***

Baekhyun snorted, rolling his eyes at Jongin running off in only his underwear, hair still slightly damp, but he honestly wasn’t in the mood to play chase and blow dry his hair.

“Mommy.” Kyungsoo pouted as soon as he had Baekhyun's attention then, Baekhyun sighed for dramatic effect, running the towel over Kyungsoo's face playfully.

“Fine! Fine! I give up, you guys can be naked for a little.” 

The toddler only beamed happily, running off in his Batman underwear to go play and Baekhyun had no idea when they became so crazy, he should scold Sehun and Jongdae because he blamed them.

Rolling his eyes he tossed the towel into the laundry basket in the hallway and continued on into the kitchen, eyeing Jongin jumping around to a song on the television but deciding not to tell him to calm down because if he hurt himself it would be his fault and he’d learn his own lesson.

Baekhyun had homework he had been putting off anyways.

Well, it wasn’t really that he was putting it off, he knew it needed to get done either way, but just felt very… unmotivated since seeing Youngmin again.

He knew it was really unfair of him to feel this way, maybe more unfair to Chanyeol, but he couldn’t help feeling upset that the man didn’t have nice things to say to him at all.

He wasn’t expecting an apology, of course not, but he just… was expecting a bit of compassion.

It was a silly thought because the Youngmin he met was the same as he had always been, horrible, but to some degree Baekhyun couldn't help himself from having hoped he had changed even just a little, and that thought was laughable at best.

He felt guilty because he loved Chanyeol and not a small portion of him doubted that, but his head kept telling him that he should have made a better impression on Youngmin, should have done better to seek his approval - and Baekhyun didn’t _need_ his approval, that's what he kept telling himself, but it was so hard not to fall into old habits.

Because at one time he would have done anything Youngmin wanted him to, because he had loved him, he had felt at one point Youngmin loved him too, even if it was in the cruelest of ways. 

Maybe he loved his crying, maybe he just loved the sex, but at one point Baekhyun had felt something similar to love from Youngmin.

It really shouldn’t matter now, and it didn’t, because nothing could compare to the love he had for Chanyeol - nothing, but Baekhyun was having a hard time trying not to slip through the cracks and let Youngmin's words hurt him.

It was so hard not to think about them though. 

He had gained so much weight since being with Chanyeol, at least twenty pounds by now, and he always thought he looked better thin too - knew that Youngmin did. He could remember going days without eating, purposely back then, because Youngmin thought he was gaining weight.

Was it really that noticeable? Sure, his cheeks were round now, his stomach wasn’t flat anymore, and his hips were gaining a layer of fat. 

Chanyeol liked it, that's what he kept telling himself. His boyfriend liked it and that’s all that should matter.

But it was really hard not to think so much, because he didn’t want things to go sour like they had with Youngmin, and didn't want to get hurt or embarrass Chanyeol by seeming lazy or even by seeming a whore.

He had done some horrible things back then, cheated on Youngmin just because he wanted his attention so badly, wanted anything even if it was just a bruise - at least he had been acknowledged. So he did think Youngmin had the right to call him a whore, still holding a grudge against him, but he had been way more unfaithful than Baekhyun ever was.

Not that Baekhyun could really bring himself to point it out.

“Phone!” Jongin screamed, little hands bringing him his vibrating phone with a huge smile, “Daddy!” 

Baekhyun snorted because the twins always thought if the phone rang it was daddy; and they were usually right.

“Hello.” 

_“Hey, I’m on my way home. I just thought I’d call and see if we needed anything.”_ He could hear the Bluetooth slightly cutting out and was happier Chanyeol wasn’t trying to drive and hold the phone to his face.

Then, he was frowning and looking at the time on his laptop, “I-I didn’t realize it was this late. I… I forgot to make dinner, can you pick something up? I’m sorry. I’m sorry I was giving the kids a bath, I forgot.” 

_“Baby.”_ Chanyeol cooed, and his voice was so soft Baekhyun relaxed his muscles, _“It’s no problem at all. I’m craving a burrito, I’ll get your favorite, sweetheart.”_

“I’m not hungry.” Baekhyun mumbled, “Don't worry about it, just for the kids. Soo, Nini. What do you want from the burrito place?”

“Mmm!” He got a wide grin from Kyungsoo, “Cheeze!” 

Baekhyun snorted and Jongin just stared at him from the couch with a, ‘you really don’t know, mom?’ Sort of an expression and Baekhyun was so yelling at Sehun. “Soo wants nachos, Nini wants bean burrito.” 

_“Okay, and I’m still getting you something, baby. I don’t…”_ Chanyeol took a breath and Baekhyun knew he was trying not to seem pushy, _“I don’t know what’s gotten into you, babe. Well… I mean, I do, but I just want you to talk to me. Okay? Let’s not let this change us, beautiful, we’re still me and you, and we still have the babies, always. I love you, gorgeous.”_

Baekhyun pursed his lips and dropped his elbows on the counter to duck his head, “Okay.” 

_“When I get home I’m expecting a bright smile, beautiful. The prettiest of smiles on that beautiful face, you hear me? My gorgeous little boyfriend; I wish I could say fiancé, but my baby won’t wear my ring!”_

Baekhyun giggled at his teasing, feeling a lot better than only minutes before and wished he could just stay with Chanyeol all day so he wouldn’t feel let his thoughts overrun him. “You never got me one!” 

_“Ah! Be careful! That sounds like a yes!”_

“Focus on the road instead of flirting with me!” Baekhyun teased, playing with the edge of his shirt with a small smile, ears slightly pink because Chanyeol didn’t even need to be here to have him flustered. “And… I am hungry.” 

He heard Chanyeol hum, and knew the man was too observant for his own good and knew Baekhyun all too well, probably didn’t buy his lying for a second. _“I know, beautiful. I’ll be home in a few, please take your medicine and relax a little, I love you.”_

“Love you. Drive safe.” 

He felt a lot better just hearing from Chanyeol.

  
***

Chanyeol hadn’t been sleeping well at all, it was to be expected, but he really hadn’t been able to sleep.

So he found himself on his laptop most nights, carefully angling the screen down to not disturb Baekhyun, and just scrolling, shopping and sometimes looking at trips because originally he had been wanting to take his family on a small vacation, but recent events kind of pushed a lot back.

He had so much that he originally wanted to discuss with Baekhyun, so much he wanted to discuss with the kids, but they couldn’t really do any of that.

The ring he had been staring at in his bookmarks really didn't feel right to buy right now, not when days were long, and nights were getting worse.

Like right now he was slamming his laptop shut and tossing it on his side table because Baekhyun was shaking, face scrunched together, and he used to never get nightmares, they were so rare, but he’d been having them at least three times a week the past two weeks.

“Babe, wake up. Wake up, sweetheart.” 

He learned now to grab Baekhyun's hands first, because the smaller was very scared when he was being woken from a nightmare, accidentally hitting Chanyeol a few times, not that he cared at all, they didn’t hurt, but Baekhyun always looked devastated at the red marks so Chanyeol was more cautious for his sake.

“Sh, I’m right here.” He cooed as soon as Baekhyun's eyes were open, releasing his hands to pull him into his chest, “Right here, baby.” 

Baekhyun wasn’t very good at trying to talk right after waking from a nightmare, shaky and didn’t really make sense, but he seemed different tonight. 

He wasn’t sobbing or trying to stutter through an explanation, he just laid there and sniffed silent tears as Chanyeol rocked him, just staring at him through the dim light from the television. 

It was a habit of Baekhyun's to forget to turn it off, and Chanyeol didn’t really mind the extra light anyways, he could see Baekhyun better with it. 

“I know, baby. You’re so sweet.” Chanyeol smiled, pressing a kiss to Baekhyun's hand when the smaller went to touch his face, “You’re so sweet, you don't deserve any of this.” 

Baekhyun sniffed, and Chanyeol hated the way he looked like he didn’t believe him. 

“I love you,” He assured, laying a hand under Baekhyun's pajama shirt to smooth over his stomach, “So much. Nobody will ever hit you again. Do you believe me?” 

“.. he… he broke my finger once.” He heard Baekhyun whisper, watching him hold out his hand and point to his pointer finger. Chanyeol hadn’t ever noticed the way it was slightly crooked, but it was. “Because he said I was eating too much, that if I couldn’t grab then I couldn’t eat. But it… it was my own food, I bought it myself.” 

Chanyeol avoided looking directly at Baekhyun just because he was trying to keep his tears back, gulping as he felt over the soft skin of Baekhyun's c section scar. 

At least he had this scar for a happy reason, Chanyeol liked to see the pinkish colored line because he thought it was beautiful that Baekhyun could do such a thing. 

“Don’t think about those sorts of things.” He requested softly, knowing it didn’t help Baekhyun at all, taking his hand from Baekhyun's shirt to readjust his position to rest his face directly over the smallers, holding himself on his elbow and using his hand to comb Baekhyun's hair back. “You’re perfect, and you don’t have to worry about what he thinks because it’s just me and you, it’s just me, and I never judge you. Ever.”

“I love you.” Baekhyun responded simply; like it was the answer to everything, like it could solve all their problems, take away all his fears and Chanyeol wished that were the case. 

He just pressed a kiss to Baekhyun's nose, pressing their foreheads together and placing an even softer one to his lips, “I love you, and you won’t ever be hurt by me.” He promised, fingers barely even running along Baekhyun's cheek because his boyfriend was so fragile, so soft, and only deserved the lightest of touches. 

“I know.” Baekhyun smiled, tilting his head up more to brush with Chanyeol's, “You… you’re everything I ever wanted, didn’t know I needed you so much.” He tangled his fingers in Chanyeol's hair, running his fingers through the soft curls, “Can’t live without you, Chanyeol.” 

Usually Baekhyun would tease him for saying such cheesy things, for playing around so much, but Chanyeol could tell he was being serious, completely serious because he wasn’t smiling playfully or following up with something sarcastic, just staring at his features like he wasn’t believing his eyes.

And Chanyeol knew how that felt, because he was dazed by Baekhyun every second of every day. “I breathe easier when I’m with you. Do you know how that feels?” 

Baekhyun's smile got shyer then, and Chanyeol also wished he wasn’t so hesitant to accept his affection, but knew the smaller wasn’t used to it even if he should be. 

“It’s calming, I feel safe.” 

“You’re always safe when you’re with me.” Chanyeol didn’t even have to think about his responses, only smiling against Baekhyun's mouth when the smaller closed the gap for a kiss. “Do you… feel better when I hold you like this? Nightmares won’t be re-lived if I can help it, Baekhyun. Never again. I’ll tell you every single night; you’re never again going to be tortured like that.”

Chanyeol still wasn’t too sure about the extent of Baekhyun's abuse, how far it had gone, but it must have been horrible, terrifying, because no normal couple got in fights so bad one of them ended up strangled and bruised beyond recognition.

Junmyeon had the hospital records, had the photos as he was trying to build a case, and Chanyeol couldn't bring himself to look at any of them because he didn’t want to see Baekhyun like that, never wanted to see him anything but looking healthy and angelic. 

“I feel better just hearing your voice.” Baekhyun whispered, “Just seeing you.” 

“Me too.” He responded shakily, a bit choked up how Baekhyun looked at him - like he was the best thing he’d ever seen, as if he looked up to him so much, just purely loving. 

Baekhyun just laughed very quietly, almost silent and curled his leg around Chanyeol's thigh, wrapping around tight around his boyfriends shoulders, “I can’t go back to sleep.” 

Chanyeol laughed softly, hugging him tight to his chest as he rolled back over into his back, setting Baekhyun on his front and running warm hands over his back, “I was never sleeping.” 

“Good.” Baekhyun whispered into his jaw, sitting back to place palms flat on Chanyeol's chest, “Let's be close.” 

Chanyeol snorted at his cheesiness, but didn’t have any qualms with pulling the smaller back on top of his chest to kiss down his neck. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New stories updated (not really new, but reposted or adding to part two!)


	26. Broken & Built

Baekhyun had been feeling a little sick.

He really couldn’t place it, but it wasn’t too bad where he needed to go to the doctor, or even needed to ask Chanyeol to come home from work, it was only a bit annoying when he went to walk the kids home from school, or when he picked them up.

Either way, he wasn’t too concerned about it, one of the side effects to his supplements was stomach discomfort and cramping, and he had occasionally gotten side effects before with taking them for as long as he was.

His rates just weren’t high enough to stop yet and, especially because of recent events, he didn’t have much of an appetite.

At least he was more motivated to get his homework done and he even chose a major that he was sure Chanyeol was going to be so proud of.

It was probably the fact that Chanyeol was a producer and he was now surrounded by music that he wanted to do it too, but he was more interested in the artist parts, he wanted to sing.

Baekhyun never thought of himself as a good singer before, hadn’t given much thought to it at all, but Chanyeol loved his voice - and he knew the man was extremely biased because he was his boyfriend after all, he was practically obligated to say so, but Yifan thought it was beautiful too, so did Yixing, then Sehun, and then soon all their friends had been sent that stupid Christmas track he made specifically for Chanyeol.

Chanyeol hadn’t been happy his gift was being spread everywhere either, but looked really proud at the nice messages their friends gave Baekhyun.

He thought it was a very nice major to take, and knew Chanyeol would be able to help him a lot with his work next semester, music notes were confusing, but his boyfriend was a literal professional, so he would take advantage of that.

“I thought I told you to throw that shit away.” Chanyeol sighed playfully, leaning over the back of the couch to nip at Baekhyun's ear, “It’s broken, babe.”

“Twins like to play with it!” Baekhyun defended with a pout, turning to peck Chanyeol's lips.

Chanyeol snickered, rolling his eyes playfully and snatching the old phone from Baekhyun's hand, it was about time they got him a new one anyways, it was so overused that the brightenness was always down on it. “They do not, little one.”

Baekhyun only giggled to himself, moving the laptop to the side to peer over the couch, “Let me tell you something.”

“Oh no, you have that look in your eye, should I worry?” Chanyeol teased, kissing his lips with a fond grin before walking towards the kitchen.

“I chose my major!”

“Did you go with art? I know you said you thought the classes were very interesting, sweet boy.”

Baekhyun laughed and shook his head, placing his chin on the arm of the couch, “I wanted to do music, like you.”

Chanyeol’s brows shot up, leaning over the island, “No way, I thought you wanted to do art, baby.”

“I decided..” Baekhyun beamed sweetly, curling up into a couch pillow, “... that I wanted to sing.”

“Fuck, are you trying to turn me on?” Chanyeol growled playfully, “It’s working, babe. We have time before the kids get home, want to play?”

The smaller burst into giggles when Chanyeol came stomping over, face looking playfully mad and Baekhyun only cupped his face and pressed their noses together when he was close enough, “Let’s try again later. Stomach ache.”

Chanyeol only laughed softly, pressing lips to his temple, “I’m really proud of you, my love. Very, very proud. Let’s do something special when your finals are done, what do you say?”

“What do you suggest?” Baekhyun shot back, wrapping his arms loosely around Chanyeol's neck, a bit uncomfortable with his hips pressing into the arm of the couch.

His boyfriend hummed against his cheek, “Maybe… Disneyland? Twins would like it, or… we could go do something, just me and you, and then take the twins to an amusement park during summer. I’ll let you think and do some research.”

Baekhyun only smiled brightly, kissing his jaw a handful of times before letting him go, sitting back properly on the couch, “Love you.”

“And I, you, my sweet baby. I’m going to shower before the gremlins get dropped off.” Chanyeol cooed, kissing his head.

“Be fast!”

“Bossy!”

Baekhyun giggled and shook his head fondly, reaching over for his phone vibrating on the table.

Newer phones were a bit harder to figure out, but he did like the simplicity of this new one, just a green or red option for phone calls - it was cute. “Hello?”

_“This call may be monitored and recorded, press one to accept any fees that apply.”_

Baekhyun furrowed his brows and reluctantly hit one, already having an inkling feeling who it was.

_“Knew you’d accept, sugar. Are you glad you get to see me again! I sure am, baby face.”_

“How the fuck did you get my number?” Baekhyun hissed, feeling nothing but angry.

Youngmin cackled, _“Attorney had it. I’m good at memorizing, you didn’t answer me. You know I hate to wait for responses, hurry it up.”_

“I have no idea what the hell you're talking about. I should hang up on you right now.”

_“Now, now. Let’s play nice, you know I don’t like when you try to be all high and mighty, we both know you’re not, sweet cheeks.”_

Baekhyun's hands clenched, because he knew Youngmin was right, but it didn’t make him any less angry.

_“Don’t worry, you can make it up to me. It gets so lonely in here, doll. You always were so gorgeous, seeing you made me miss you so much. You were so cute, adorable even, I missed you all these years, Baekhyun. You must have missed me too, I looked for you everywhere. Not a scrap left.”_

“Y-Youngmin..”

_“And then! I was pissed, found out you up and left, god, I’m so fucking mad. Fuck. You know I love you and you treated me like trash! Left me all alone! Me? I cared for you! I loved you like you were all I knew! Why would you do that? And now, what? You’re getting fucked by that gold collared prick? I waited for you! You must not know how I fucking feel you ignorant whore! Should have known you’d sell out for any dick with money-“_

“What did you expect me to do!” Baekhyun sobbed, “You… you tried to kill me! I was pregnant and you tried to kill me! I’- I’m.. I loved you, I loved you and you tried to kill me… I can’t- Youngmin, I can't do this cycle with you, it hurts too much. I love Chanyeol, okay? I.. I’m not just walking back to you again, not like before. I hate you for what you’ve done to me.”

Baekhyun brought a hand to his mouth to cover his sobs, because Youngmin didn’t deserve the satisfaction to know he was winning, to know that his words still held a meaning.

 _“I love you, Baekhyun.”_ And he sounded so convincing, so upset it hurt Baekhyun so much, because he used to want to hear things like that so much, used to purposely make him mad just to get his attention. _“My little goddess, I love you. Always loved you from the moment I saw you, but you do some things that aren’t okay… right? You know that, I know you’re so sorry. I’m sorry too, for a lot of things, cookie. It was an accident, you don’t remember correctly, you were hurting yourself and I tried to help you - you fell and hit your head so you don’t remember. I do, candy cane, I do, and you needed help, remember? I never hurt you, Baekhyun.”_

Baekhyun choked in frustration, hand coming up to pull at the hair on his temple with a growl, confused because he really couldn’t remember what happened very well, it was possible.

_“You know I would have been such a good father to those kids, spoiled them rotten, Baekhyun. But you left, you’re the one that left me - like I wasn’t worth your time. You hurt me.”_

“No…” He whispered, face turning red as he tried to think through his tears.

_“Yes, sugar. You up and left me. That was your mistake, and I’m still mad - I’m really pissed at you, so I think you need to make it up to me when you come in with the kids.”_

“You h-hurt me.” Baekhyun argued, sounding more like he was trying to convince himself, “You… you’re dangerous, the… the kids can’t see you.”

Youngmin tsked, and Baekhyun could picture the angry scowl on his face, _“Doesn’t matter what you think. They approved mandatory visitation. Suck it up, hot stuff, I’ll see you within a week.”_

Baekhyun scrunched his face up and didn’t have anything to say, dropping the phone on the couch and writhing with shakiness, wrapping his arms around himself.

He didn’t know how long he sat there, crying into his knees until Chanyeol was coming out, hair dripping onto his bare shoulders, and a towel in his hand, “Baek, lets watch- hey, you okay?”

And Baekhyun was still just rocking, alerting Chanyeol immediately because he was so quiet, and Baekhyun was never so quiet when it was them.

“Baby. Baby - oh, god.” Chanyeol whispered, pushing the hair back from Baekhyun's face and trying to get him to untangle from his ball, it was fairly easy because Baekhyun was unresponsive, just staring into space with his eyes swollen and temple scratched up by his nails, all red and raised, irritated. “Baek, my baby, what happened? Come here.”

He got a slight disproving grunt from Baekhyun when he lifted him under his arms, holding the smaller into his chest, “ ‘m gonna puke, put me down.”

“I don’t care. Sh, I don’t care, baby. It’s okay.” Chanyeol soothed immediately, uncaring at all as he rushed them into the bathroom, reaching into the bathtub to start the warm water.

Baekhyun was just limp, frozen, letting Chanyeol peel his clothes off without much more than a few sniffs and uncomfortable noises.

“Just take a breath, we’re breathing now, honey.” Chanyeol said, cupping Baekhyun's cheek and sniffing to himself at the smallers state, only taking another second to brush the hair back from the irritation on his temple to make sure he hadn’t broken skin before he was sitting on his knees and lifting Baekhyun into the tub.

“Shh, it’s okay - it’s okay, it’s just me.” He mumbled when Baekhyun sucked in a scared breath at the change of environments, “We’re just warming you up, baby. Just warming you up.” Chanyeol added in a soft tone, pushing Baekhyun's hair, wetting the strands as he massaged gently.

He continued gently massaging his skin a little longer, massaging the warm water into his neck when Baekhyun was suddenly wrapping weak fingers around his arm, “Mm, Chanyeol.”

“Yes, beautiful.”

“ ‘m gonna puke.”

Chanyeol tried to get up and get the trash can in time, but Baekhyun was already leaning over between his knees and just vomiting, immediately bursting into more tears, “ ‘m sorry! I’m sorry, s-sorry. I’ll clean it up!”

“No. Lay down, lay down.” Chanyeol frowned and shook his head, Baekhyun didn’t even look like he could do much other than sleep for a while anyways, “It’s not a big deal, sweetheart. We just need to run new water.”

“It’s.. it's gross,” Baekhyun mumbled, face renewed with redness and tears as he reached for the drain plug between his feet.

“It’s not.” Chanyeol argued softly, running his hand down Baekhyun's shoulders, “I’m not disgusted, I’m just so worried, Baekhyun. I’m so worried, just let me baby you. Just lay down, l-lay down and try to rest, I’m going to take care of you.”

Baekhyun didn’t really have enough energy to deny him at all, just shivering slightly and watching Chanyeol use one of the babies shower cups to rinse him and the tub out before refilling it with warm water.

“Get some rest.” Chanyeol requested, rubbing his thumb over the corner of Baekhyun's eye, not unfamiliar to how they tried to get the twins to go back to sleep if they woke up. “I love you. I’ll wash you up and put you to bed, just go to sleep, sweetheart.”

Baekhyun did close his eyes, and did relax against the tub, relaxing even more at Chanyeol's hands lathering up his skin, but he wasn’t sleeping, probably wouldn’t be for a while. “He- called, petition was approved.”

Chanyeol tried to keep a straight face, but knew he failed, it didn’t matter much when Baekhyun's eyes were closed anyways, but he knew Baekhyun felt his hands shake as he ran them over his thigh.

“Said… said that it was my fault. Everything, I did.. I did leave him, he.. he must have been so sad..”

“He didn’t love you, Baekhyun.” Chanyeol whispered, expression dropping at the guilt in Baekhyun's voice, “Remember? We talked about this, babe. What he feels isn’t love, he just wants you to think that, he wants you to feel bad about it, but you have no reason to, baby. He nearly killed you, that's unforgivable. Just him hurting you is unforgivable, okay? How the fuck did he even get your number anyways?”

“Said he.. stole it.”

“Unsurprising.” Chanyeol scoffed, hands gentle as he ran them over Baekhyun's stomach, “I have an idea that I think will make you feel better.”

“Hm?”

“We’re going to switch phones, you and I. That way, if he calls next time, he’s not going to be very happy with what he has to hear. What do you think, sweet boy? We’ll tell all our friends that way you and Luhan can have your secret boy talk at three in the morning as usual.” Chanyeol teased, pinching Baekhyun's nose.

He got a quiet laugh for that, Baekhyun's eyes still shut as he reached out to find Chanyeol's hand under the water, bringing their hands to rest on his stomach, “We just talk about you, sometimes Sehun. But.. he’s not you so I don’t care too much.”

Chanyeol snorted at that, massaging his thumb over Baekhyun's, “Gee, thanks baby, because it’s very ego boosting to be compared to Sehun, ew.”

“Go get my toothbrush so I can kiss you.” Baekhyun giggled then, eyes shooting open, still red and bloodshot, his temple still irritated and could use some ointment, but he looked happier.

He was responding and didn’t have tears, so that was a million times better than nearly forty minutes before.

“Yes, my love.” Chanyeol answered with a chuckle, leaning over the tub to kiss his wet forehead, walking over to the cabinet shortly after for a spare because they didn’t use this bathroom, usually the one connected to their room they used, but Chanyeol wasn’t willing to leave Baekhyun alone in a tub filled to the brim in his state.

He busied himself grabbing some towels from the cabinet while Baekhyun brushed his teeth, and honestly they were making much bigger a mess to the bathroom than needed, but neither of them could really give two fucks.

“Okay, pull the plug, cupcake, let's watch a movie and lay down.”

Baekhyun merely laughed and pulled the plug, shaking as he stood up in the water so Chanyeol could wrap a towel around him, “Carry me?”

“Of course, sweetheart.” Chanyeol replied instantly, drying Baekhyun's hair just so it wasn’t dripping everywhere and scooping him up into his arms, carrying him down the hall to their room.

Baekhyun only really whined when Chanyeol set him down to try and get him some clothes, looking much more childish than was common with him as he reached his arms out, “Just cuddles.”

“Let's take a nap, babe.” Chanyeol agreed, only accepting the damp towel from Baekhyun's body to toss in the basket before tucking under the blankets with the smallers naked form, cradling him under his chin. “My beautiful boy.”

And Baekhyun giggled softly, spurring on Chanyeol into more random compliments to hear the sound again.


	27. Toxic & Timing

“We can do this.”

Baekhyun didn’t believe Chanyeol for once, not when they had been sitting in the car for a good twenty minutes in silence, staring at the prison while the twins played in the backseat. “Chan-“

“We can.” His boyfriend muttered, leaning over the center console to cup his cheek, “Right? We can do this, sweetheart. Together we can do it.”

“Together.” Baekhyun didn’t necessarily believe him, but he kissed at the corner of Chanyeol's lips anyways, pressing a sigh into his skin. “You… you’ll-“

“Be there the entire time, of course.” Chanyeol cooed, brushing his thumb over Baekhyun's cheek. “I’d never let anything happen to you, okay?”

Baekhyun nodded, but gulped, words sitting on the end of his tongue, a confession he had suspicions of confirmed only days before that he still had yet to bring up.

But he knew Chanyeol was going to be overjoyed, he had been the one asking for months after all.

“No! Mine!” Kyungsoo screeched just as Baekhyun was willing to break the silence.

He sighed, reaching for his door, “Guess that means time to go in.”

***

They were meeting in a completely different room this time, one where Youngmin was going to be handcuffed, not to a table, but just that was enough to ease the tension a little.

Baekhyun appreciated that fine detail, he really didn’t want the children having to see him at all, they had zero clue who he was after all, so he was just mad they were being forced.

Two three year olds having to get their toys dumped out to check really wasn’t any good news, Kyungsoo was already crying because he wasn’t allowed to bring in any hard toys.

It hurt Baekhyun's chest because the twins really shouldn’t have to be here, they should be playing with their friends at school right now, not dealing with this bullshit.

“Scrump can come - here. The nice man said Scrump could come.” Baekhyun assured, grabbing the cloth doll from their tray of belongings and picking Kyungsoo up onto his hip, “I know, baby. It’s okay.”

Kyungsoo only sniffed harder, pulling Scrump under his chin as Baekhyun pressed kisses to his hair, he felt so bad for doing this to the twins, it was so unfair to them because they had no idea what was going on.

“Sank you!” He heard Jongin say to the guard and laughed softly, shaking his head at his son, he never was really shy, at least he didn’t really seem to care, only sticking to Chanyeol's leg like a leech.

“Okay, little man.” He heard Chanyeol chuckle behind him, “Hold my hand.”

Baekhyun really regretted everything in existence when they passed security and heard beeping of a door being unlocked, silently following guards down hallways so they could find their visitation room.

When they walked in, Youngmin wasn’t in sight, only a few chairs set up around a wooden table, in the corner a thin blanket spread on the ground with literal baby toys sitting on it - probably all the toys the prison allowed because they were soft and thin.

Standing just inside the doorway with a handful of water bottles was a woman dressed in an all black suit, it wasn’t hard to figure out who she was, and Baekhyun hated her already.

“Oh!” She smiled and Baekhyun couldn't bring himself to even attempt to replicate it, only setting Kyungsoo onto the ground and watching the toddler run off to the blanket with interest in the colorful toys. “Hello, I’m Ruby Lee, Youngmin Kim’s attorney.” She stuck her hand out for a handshake and Baekhyun didn’t feel bad at all about completely ignoring it to stop Jongin from trying to climb on a chair.

“Yeah. We know.” At least Chanyeol didn’t seem like he wanted to fuck with pleasantries either, “Of course we know the person forcing our kids to an aggressive psychomaniac, we did our research.”

Baekhyun stifled a laugh into Jongin's hair, seating the toddler on his lap and pulling out the chair beside him for Chanyeol.

“Mama.” Jongin whispered with a pout, “Paw Patrol?”

“We can’t watch right now, sweetie.” Baekhyun soothed, combing the toddlers hair from his eyes, “In the car, mommy promises.”

Jongin huffed, pressing his palms together and laying his cheek on Baekhyun's chest. They must be so tired from the car ride.

“I… that's not what we’re trying to do at all.” He raised a brow as the attorney very awkwardly pulled out a chair across from them, laying a few waters in front of them. “He is very devoted to learning and wanting a part in his children’s life, Youngmin -“

“He’s a manipulative liar.” Baekhyun hissed, laying a hand over Jongin's ear and gently rocking him, “You’re taking on a losing case. He’s an aggressive, violent criminal, two three year olds shouldn't have to spend a day near him.”

She looked so uncomfortable Baekhyun almost felt bad, Chanyeol's hand soothing his knee to try to calm him down didn’t even help his anger though.

Of course he was angry about the situation, Youngmin had abused him an entire year, Baekhyun knew better than anyone how violent the man could be.

“You must be Baekhyun.” She murmured, “I know that, given your ideas, you must not be open to the thought of -“

“My ideas? My ideas?” Baekhyun shifted Jongin over to Chanyeol's lap because his entire body was raging, “You think it’s okay? You think the fact that the domestic violence case fell through means it never happened? I can’t even count how many times I had to go to the hospital because of him - there’s records for it - so don’t try to label the fact of his aggression as “my ideas.”

“Baby.” Chanyeol whispered softly, only needing one word for Baekhyun to sit back into his seat, unaware of when he even stood up.

Baekhyun only clenched his jaw more as she looked to be thinking over her response, reaching out to open one of the water bottles because he felt like he was sweating from nerves.

“Let me rephrase, please.” She requested softly, looking somewhere over Chanyeol's shoulder and Baekhyun wanted to hit her just for looking at Kyungsoo playing happily by himself in the corner - he knew his anger towards her was unreasonable when she was being paid to take this case, but he really didn’t give a shit. “I understand that… There have been many incidents when your relationship was intimate, he has explained the manner, but to abuse his own children, we don’t believe it will be an issue. He’s been very expressive about wanting to care for them.”

Baekhyun had so much to say, and Chanyeol being here was supposed to keep him from passing out, but his hormones were all over the place and the only thing he could think of right now was to fight.

“Oh, yeah? What did he explain then? Did he say… “Yeah, Baekhyun was prone to falling down the stairs,” he really liked that excuse, what about a “he was the aggressor, liked to hit and I had to respond;” because it’s not like I’m half his size and couldn’t even make him budge..”

“Mr. Byun-“

“What about how when people used to come check on our apartment building because of the noises he forced me to open the door, bleeding under my clothes, sometimes nearly unconscious, to tell them, “Sorry, it must have been the wind,” when I had just gotten beat to a pulp. So, open your mouth again and tell me he’s not a risk - tell me I’m lying, I’ve heard it all before.”

Chanyeol’s hand curled up on the side of his jaw then, nothing but soft as he ran his thumb over the corner of Baekhyun's mouth to get his attention, “Breathe, baby. Just for a second.”

His eyes didn’t really look that convincing, dark and feral almost despite Jongin dozing off on his chest. But they also screamed, “I believe you.” And Baekhyun never had anyone look at him like that before, not until long after he was gone.

Baekhyun leaned over to rest his forehead on Chanyeol's shoulder, feeling his boyfriend curl fingers into the hair on the nape of his neck and press a kiss to his head. He felt better, only a little, but it was better than nothing.

He heard her clear her throat, but she otherwise didn’t make another move to say a word, and that was for the best, because Baekhyun was ready to tear her apart.

“Mommy, sursty. Pease.”

Baekhyun smiled to himself, pressing a kiss to Chanyeol's shoulder and reaching to his other side to pick up Kyungsoo, “Careful. Don't spill please.” He requested, holding the water bottle from the bottom to help Kyungsoo.

The door beeped again, and he felt his entire body tense up as guards led Youngmin in, a huge smirk on his face as if unphased as he was forcefully pushed into his seat, guards stepping outside the room, but Baekhyun could see them in the window.

He nearly spilled the water he forgot he was holding when Kyungsoo whined, pulling it away and wiping the toddlers chin with a kiss to his forehead in apology.

“These my kids?”

“My kids.” Chanyeol corrected with false calmness.

Youngmins nose twitched at that, turning his head to face Baekhyun and not even sparing a glance at his own attorney. “You look better, sweetheart. So, tell me their names.”

Baekhyun felt Chanyeol's hand on his thigh tighten possessively, and knew if he was allowed to cause a jealous scene he would have already. “This… is Kyungsoo, Jongin.” He pointed at the bigger twin, dozing in Chanyeol's lap.

Kyungsoo did seem confused with the new person, but he was always the shyer of the two, so he was only playing with Baekhyun's sleeves and sparing small looks.

“Hi, aren't you beautiful?” Baekhyun's brows furrowed at the false nice tone, “Look just like your mom, huh?”

“My… my mommy?” Kyungsoo whispered, wrapping his arms around Baekhyun's neck looking slightly put off.

“You don’t want to meet your daddy?” Youngmin asked, “Come here.”

Chanyeol growled a frustrated noise at Kyungsoo's shaking eyes, obviously confused as he reached out for Chanyeol, “Daddy.”

“No. I’m your daddy.”

“No.” Baekhyun slammed his palm on the table, “Chanyeol is their dad, not you.”

Youngmin was a good actor, but even right now he was confusing Baekhyun as he sat back in his seat. Staring at him for a good few seconds before his eyes were glossing over and Baekhyun's heart started racing because he had only seen Youngmin cry a few times.

Usually when Baekhyun had been trying to leave, trying to walk out on him because he was tired of the abuse, but he was always sucked right back in, always hated to see people upset.

“I-I always wanted kids with you, Baekhyun. A-Always.” And then he was full on crying, tears streaming down his face, and Baekhyun felt like crying too, felt like they were having one of their arguments from years ago. “Baekhyun. Give me a chance, please.. I’m begging you, please.”

“You’re a bullshit liar.” Chanyeol burst Baekhyun's thoughts, juggling Kyungsoo and Jongin on his lap even though the smaller of the two was wide awake and just looked so, extremely confused. “You’re a manipulative bastard. Don’t pull that.”

Baekhyun only saw Youngmin cry harder, and felt so bad. “Y...Youngmin, you’re dangerous. I couldn’t - I can’t trust you with them.”

He saw Chanyeol's neck snap to him and felt guilty because they both talked about Baekhyun falling for his bullshit, and if Baekhyun wasn’t sitting right across from Youngmin it was easy to say he wouldn’t.

But as soon as he saw him… it was so much harder not to pretend to be unaffected, not to remember that at one point they had been nice to each other - even if it had only been a short while Baekhyun had enjoyed it.

He had also only been nineteen or twenty at the time though, he hadn’t really understood much to begin with.

“You’re in prison, I can’t - I don’t want the twins here, it’s scary.”

“I’m their father, Baekhyun.” The way Youngmin’s lip twitched with anger had Baekhyun sitting back further in his seat, “Don't pretend I’m not - they’re my goddamn kids. My kids.”

“We’re done.” Chanyeol growled, setting Kyungsoo onto the ground and grabbing his hand, arm holding Jongin's sleeping form, “The notice said we needed to show up, didn’t say how long.”

“Required time is thirty minutes, at least.” Youngmin’s attorney flustered, standing up with her palms out like she wanted to stop Chanyeol from going.

“But you’re too busy being a rich housewife now! Huh? Tell me!”

Baekhyun flinched so hard his knee hit the side of the table, knocking the water bottle down and spilling it across the wood surface. “I-I”

“What do you do? Sit on your ass all day? I can tell you’re spoiled rich now, it’s obvious that’s all you do! It obvious on your fat face -You never could control yourself around food!”

Youngmin’s handcuffs sounded so loud as they clacked on the wood, only bringing Baekhyun's attention to his anger at being yelled at for no reason. “What are you going to do! Do it, Youngmin! Sell yourself out! Hit a pregnant man and then what? What will happen? You’ll still be stuck here, alone!”

“What?” Chanyeol asked, but the two were busy screaming at each other and he was trying to keep both crying toddlers calm as the attorney waved the guards to unlock the door.

“You can’t hide behind lies here! There’s cameras everywhere! I wish you would, I wish you would just hit me and prove that all those people that called me a liar for telling them were wrong! I’m clumsy, right? Clumsy doesn’t explain glass getting stuck in my shoulder! Clumsy doesn’t explain black eyes, Youngmin!”

“I told you they were accidents! If you weren’t so infuriating then maybe your dumbass wouldn’t end up that way, right? Tell me! Tell me that Baekhyun! We both know you’re the one with the temper!”

“Oh fuck you!” Baekhyun screeched, grabbing the half empty water off the table and throwing it's contents right at Youngmin, “You’re toxic!”

Chanyeol really had no idea what was going on anymore, setting the twins on the floor outside the door and quickly running inside to grab Baekhyun around the waist, the smaller was just crying by then, taking all of the insults being slurred at him.

And he felt ridiculously horrible for thinking this, but at least there was no way they would have to bring the kids to see Youngmin again, not when all of his admissions were recorded and his attorney looked shocked.

~~~~~~

“How do you feel?”

Chanyeol sighed and brushed the hair from Baekhyun's cheek, just watching the smaller pet Jongin's hair in his lap.

It started with crying the entire car ride home and Baekhyun sputtering apologies to both him and the kids for scaring them, and then it was just crying, a lot of crying.

So, the kids were sleeping with them tonight, because at least it made Baekhyun feel slightly better, though not by much, he was still just keeping quiet and soothing the sleeping toddlers.

But, this experience showed Junmyeon had been right about one thing.

Baekhyun and Youngmin were toxic together. Both of them reacting to the other so strongly it was scary, because one second Youngmin was being a predator, and then next Baekhyun was blowing up, tired of hearing it, and it was so strange because he had never seen Baekhyun quite as mad as he was in front of Youngmin.

He could only imagine how much worse things were when they hadn’t had guards, where Youngmin was free to do as he pleased because Baekhyun wasn’t a aggressive person, couldn’t even bruise someone if he wanted to, but Youngmin was fast to break others down - or, at least Baekhyun.

Though, nothing about Youngmin really suggested he was capable of doing anything other than break people down, disillusion them.

And as soon as he realized his “nice approach” wasn’t working he just snapped into his true self, full of insults and degradation, nothing but pulling Baekhyun apart at his weakest seams.

It was like watching a predator feed, only it was off of Baekhyun who really, really didn’t deserve it when he was already trembling in fear of the man and couldn’t make eye contact.

“I’m pregnant.”

“I… I thought you were just… speaking of the past.”

Baekhyun laughed almost silently, reaching over Kyungsoo's back to grab Chanyeol's hand, running his thumb over Chanyeol's fingertips, pulling him so he stood closer to his side of the bed, “I want your child.”

Chanyeol gulped, feeling mostly disbelieving as he knelt down by the bed, trailing fingers over Kyungsoo's head, “Y-Yeah?”

“I’ve been.. sick because I’m pregnant, not.. not because of anxiety.” Baekhyun whispered, releasing Chanyeol's hand to run his fingers over his boyfriend's ear, “But… I- I wasn’t sure when the time was… to tell you.”

“Anytime.” Chanyeol croaked, chewing his lip red before pressing his cheek on Baekhyun's palm, “Baby, anytime was… I-I’m really happy, I’m… so, so happy, Baekhyun.”

Baekhyun smiled gently when Chanyeol sniffed, no tears falling from the man’s eyes, but he ran his finger under his eye anyways, “Yeah?”

“Fuck. I’m going to take such good care of you.” Chanyeol promised, moving his hand to rest over the top of Baekhyun's stomach, wishing it was swollen more, that wishing he could feel the baby already. “I… Baekhyun, I’m really happy. You know I wanted to have more children with you. As many as you’re willing to have, the boys are going to be so excited to be big brothers.”

Baekhyun sucked his lip into his mouth, laughing the moment a tear slid down his cheek and sitting up to move Kyungsoo off his lap beside his brother sprawled out on the bed.

He scooted to the side of the bed to wrap his arms around Chanyeol's neck tightly, legs following and wrapping around the man’s waist, “I love you.”

“God. I love you.” Chanyeol promised, working his palm between himself and Baekhyun's stomach to feel the slight pouch of roundness, “I’m going to love you forever. Forever, until you get tired of me. Even then, I’m going to bug you.”

“Did you… just think I was getting fat?”

Chanyeol sniffed watery on his laughter, forehead pressing into Baekhyun's collarbone, “I didn’t really… notice, I just thought you were getting healthy. Not fat, baby. I couldn’t care less even if you were.”

“I really, I-I really love you so much, Chanyeol.”

Chanyeol cooed softly, pulling away from the hug only to cup Baekhyun's face and wipe his tears with his thumbs. “I’m going to take care of you guys. I promised you, right? We’re going to be together forever, me and you, and the twins… now the baby.”

Baekhyun was so pretty even when he cried it was so unfair, even his boxy smile was unchanged by the tears on his face. “Will… you get me a ring now?”

“You… you’re ready?” Chanyeol asked, trying not to let the hope sound too strong, but his wide grin wasn’t doing much to help him hide it.

“I think I was ready the moment you called and asked me out.”

Chanyeol couldn't find a proper response, only chuckling a few times before his face was scrunching up in happiness, cupping Baekhyun's head to pull him back into his chest. “You don’t even know how much I love you. Thank you, Baekhyun.”


	28. Clingy Chanyeol

“Baby! My baby!”

Baekhyun whined as Chanyeol pulled at his ankle, turning onto his other side on the couch to fix the man with a huge tired pout, “Chan. I just finished finals, you can’t let me nap in peace?”

He knew the man was just trying to be sweet, and he was, but Chanyeol had been like this for a week now - coddling him to no end, and suffocating Baekhyun with attention.

The smaller liked it, he really did, but Chanyeol acted like he was on cloud nine all week and the excitement exploded at the most random of times.

“Babe,” Chanyeol cooed, flattening the blanket out over Baekhyun's lap and placing a plate of food on top. “Eat, baby. You’ve been asleep all day.”

Baekhyun hummed, knowing Chanyeol was right so he didn’t have much to say, only rubbing his sock covered foot over Chanyeol's thigh when the man pulled his ankles into his lap.

It was really nice recently. Things were very nice, and even though Baekhyun had suspected for a good month or two of his pregnancy he really didn’t think he would be treated like this.

With the twins it had mainly just been him, practically alone, and he had to work right up until his due date, more than once having to call Junmyeon or Minseok to pick him up early, crying and apologizing to his boss because his body really couldn’t handle being on his feet any longer.

It was exhausting, and he had been worried about having another pregnancy just because he didn’t know how to handle it.

He got really tired, more than usual, he had cravings- but it was different now that he could actually act and get what he was craving.

Everything was just… so different than with the twins. Everything was calmer, his body didn’t protest when Chanyeol asked him to exercise a little, his spine wasn’t sore from being on his feet, and he just felt… good.

Well, as good as could be when he was suddenly gaining a roundness to his front practically overnight.

Maybe it was access to food that made him feel this way too, but he was hungry so much more often than he recalled feeling with the twins.

And… he was also much more needy, in a lot of ways.

Chanyeol didn’t really seem to notice much over his own excitement though, only giddy to himself and making very obvious comments in their group chat about the pregnancy.

Baekhyun was honestly surprised the man hadn’t exploded and told everybody already, but he said he wanted to have a get together and surprise everyone with both the pregnancy and their engagement.

“How should we tell the twins?” Chanyeol asked softly, massaging the side of Baekhyun's ankle. “When they get home from Junmyeons, should we tell them?”

They both knew the twins would be blabbering all about it if they told them, so they should probably wait a while, and Baekhyun wasn’t really concerned about their reactions.

The babies were sweet, and they would openly love any little sister or brother they got, in fact Baekhyun was wondering when they’d start asking about how Taemin had a little sister and why they didn’t.

The two were becoming curious like that, asking so many questions about the simplest of things; it was cute now, but Baekhyun knew he was going to lose his mind eventually.

He’d probably have to send them to bug Chanyeol, because the man always seemed unphased even when the twins wouldn’t leave them alone even if they said it was for mommy and daddy time.

“Let’s not talk about it right now.” Baekhyun requested, stretching with a groan and moving his half eaten food onto the coffee table, making a grabby hand at Chanyeol to pull him up.

Chanyeol hummed, easily pulling Baekhyun to sit up in his lap, the smaller climbing his way to wrap arms around his fiancés neck and press his cheek into Chanyeol's shoulder.

“What should we talk about then, my love?” Chanyeol cooed, pressing a kiss to Baekhyun's ear and running his hand over the curve of his spine, “Junmyeon said the case is going great, baby. You don’t ever have to see him again once Jun proves it’s a danger to you, the twins, and our unborn child.”

That was a relief, and Baekhyun already knew that because he spoke to Minseok just this morning to check on the kids, but Chanyeol sounded really happy about it, so he wouldn’t burst his bubble.

Also, Baekhyun just liked to hear Chanyeol talk sometimes. The deep rumbling against his chest seemed to affect him more than normal because of his hormones and he found himself more than once just basking in his fiancés voice because it was just so nice.

“Just hold me.” Baekhyun mumbled softly, tangling fingers into the ends of Chanyeol's hair, only half paying attention because he felt so needy and wanted to be as close as possible to Chanyeol.

“I am, beautiful.” Chanyeol laughed into his hair and it sent shivers down Baekhyun's spine, pressing himself closer to the man and sighing contently into Chanyeol's neck. “Always holding you, Baekhyun. You tired again? Do you want to go to bed?”

Baekhyun pursed his lips and shook his head, pulling his cheek from Chanyeol’s shoulder to press their noses together sweetly, running his lips across the man’s and smiling when Chanyeol's immediate reaction was to press a peck to his mouth, eyeing him the entire time fondly.

“I… I heard…” Baekhyun trailed off and Chanyeol smiled at the small flush on the smallers cheeks, Baekhyun was not shy, he knew that, but it was cute on the rare occasion he pretended to be.

“You heard what, my darling.” Chanyeol teased, pressing a fleeting kiss beside Baekhyun's eye, “So shy? Hm? You’re a faker, sweetheart. You’re not shy.”

Baekhyun pouted dramatically, curling fingers into the hair on the side of Chanyeol's head, “Heard… orgasms while pregnant.. were really good, Chanyeol.”

Chanyeol laughed under his breath, immediately feeling heat running around his body at Baekhyun's admission; he had been curious too, wondering if Baekhyun would want to continue to have sex or not, because they had honestly not done much other than fleeting touches the past month because they were under way too much stress trying to sort out paperwork and requesting restraining orders.

This baby really couldn’t have come at a better time even if it was unplanned, and it was accidental, but as soon as Chanyeol heard he felt much more relaxed, and it transferred immediately onto Baekhyun who was more relieved to not have to hide it anymore.

“Want to try.” Baekhyun requested softly, already pressing kisses down the side of Chanyeol's pulse; they both knew that Chanyeol had never once rejected an opportunity to have Baekhyun, never again since their first time together.

Chanyeol’s breath caught when Baekhyun sucked on the side of his neck, teeth scraping his pulse and he cursed under his breath when Baekhyun giggled at his reaction.

They knew each other way too well now, knew how to push easily, and Baekhyun was arguably the worst about teasing.

“Okay. Okay, baby. Of course.” Chanyeol groaned, reaching for the end of Baekhyun's shirt.

Baekhyun beamed pretty and let him remove the material quickly, only demanding a wet kiss as payment.

“You’re so gorgeous.” Chanyeol smiled, cupping Baekhyun's cheek and pressing their lips together hastily, “Mine.” He mumbled against the smallers lips, nipping at Baekhyun's bottom lip because he really loved to hear his surprised squeals.

“Chanyeol.” Baekhyun giggled into his mouth, swiping his tongue across the corner of Chanyeol's lips and trailing his hand down the man’s wrist for his hand. “Look.”

Chanyeol pressed a few kisses to Baekhyun's cheek before listening to the giggly request and feeling Baekhyun moving his hand from the smallers hip into his stomach.

“Look, it’s nice.”

He couldn’t disagree with Baekhyun at all.

His entire hand covered the small swell of Baekhyun's stomach, barely even noticeable unless you knew every inch of Baekhyun like Chanyeol did.

And Baekhyun looked beautiful with his flushed, round cheeks and holding Chanyeol's hand over his stomach like they were sharing an amazing secret together.

It wasn’t a secret when Junmyeon and Minseok already knew, but when it was just them it felt like it was a huge secret, like they were sharing something nobody else could understand.

They really couldn’t understand what it felt like to see Baekhyun sitting on his lap with the prettiest of smiles, looking at their hands on his stomach like he was so proud of their creation.

It was the same look they gave the twins, the same look Chanyeol gave Baekhyun for even the simplest of things because the truth was he woke up proud to just see Baekhyun in their bed, proud to be able to listen to Jongin whining when they woke him up for school.

He was just really proud to have people to love.

“Love you,” Baekhyun mumbled then, and Chanyeol knew he looked stupid when he cried and Baekhyun teased him about being so soft, but he couldn’t help it when he was so in love with everything everyday.

He was lucky to be loved back.

“The baby will be very beautiful.”

Chanyeol gulped and nodded, pulling his hand away just to wrap both arms around Baekhyun's back, “Of course, Baek. Everything you’ve ever made has been beautiful.”

He was biased, but Baekhyun's smile always made him want to argue that anything he said towards Baekhyun was a fact because there was no way someone wouldn’t find him, and everything he did, beautiful.

  
***

“Daddy, look!” Kyungsoo chirped, hanging on the doorknob of Chanyeol's office door.

Honestly, there was no real reason Chanyeol needed to stay home, but recently he found himself working from home a lot more.

A few days a week he had to go down to the company for some meetings, but it just was so much easier to produce some tracks from home when he had the same equipment already there.

Not to mention he had much more inspiration at home.

Baekhyun also looked really happy not to be alone while the kids were at school - he never admitted he was lonely, but Chanyeol could read the smaller like a book, it was so easy.

Also, Baekhyun didn’t try to hide how happy he was when Chanyeol was home at all - purposely walking a million times past the office door if it was opened until Chanyeol laughed and invited him to sit with him while he worked, cooking a bunch of desserts because he knew Chanyeol loved them and couldn’t resist if he smelled something, even just walking in to kiss Chanyeol's hair and silently coddle the man for a few minutes usually sleepily and droopy eyed, but it never stopped Baekhyun from seeking out his fiancé even if he was tired; Baekhyun was just adorable, and it was undeniable.

“What’s up, my little prince, come see daddy.” Chanyeol cooed, removing the headphones from his neck and spinning his chair around for the toddler.

Kyungsoo beamed immediately, and Chanyeol had no reason for the way his heart jumped other than that he loved their kids so much, and found them insanely beautiful.

He also, for no particular reason, liked to think that they took after him a lot as they were getting older, and genetics aside - he would stick to that thought even if the truth was they weren’t his genes, because inside he felt like they were.

Like how Jongin was growing like a weed and was obviously going to be a tall kid, like Chanyeol. Or how Kyungsoo shared the same wide eyed expression as him when he was amazed with something.

It had nearly been two years, and the twins had been so young when they met that they were just learning behaviors from him - copying how he sat, wanting to watch superhero movies because they knew Chanyeol liked them, even going as far as to claim they were going to do music just like daddy.

Chanyeol just was going to pretend forever he had created the twins, because they at least deserved that much, and deserved to have a father that wasn’t absolute trash.

And, adding to his point, Baekhyun has adamantly denied everything Youngmin had tried to tell the kids - denying everything about him calling himself their dad, reiterating to the kids days after that no, Chanyeol is your dad.

It felt really good, even if they both knew when the twins were older they’d have to tell them the truth.

But, for now, they didn’t need to worry about things like that at all. Because Chanyeol could fool himself into thinking they looked similar, and the twins were too young to notice a thing.

“Daddy, see? Made dis for you.” Kyungsoo mumbled with a huge smile, leaning his shoulder against Chanyeol's chest to hold up his piece of construction paper.

“Yeah?” Chanyeol crooned, pressing his lips to the toddlers cheek before turning his chair around towards the desk again, “Did you have a good day at school? Look, daddy will put the picture up here so he can see all the time.”

The desk was already littered with pictures, and Chanyeol wasn’t even sure the twins remembered giving him half of them, and his drawer that was meant for paperwork was turning into just more piles of pictures, but it was nice to look through the older ones.

Chanyeol hadn’t been in their family drawings back then, but the twins always gave him pictures, so many that the moment they started seeing him differently was obvious even if it had only been a picture of him at the park with them - they had eventually turned into him holding Baekhyun's hand, him with one of the twins on his back, and they were all so hard to make out, of course they were when they were toddlers drawings, but their explanations were more than enough and so cute Chanyeol couldn’t forget a single story about the pictures.

Even the sad ones. Even the one that had him in tears because he felt so helpless when Jongin had given him a drawing and it was so hard to make out - to him it only looked like the scribbles of a two year old, but that wasn’t at all what Jongin had said it was.

“It mommy, mommy sleepy, but… play us.” The, then two year old, had explained.

Chanyeol never forgot about that one, had it stashed at the very bottom of his drawer, and maybe in a few years the memory wouldn’t make him feel so… horrible anymore, but it was impossible when Baekhyun still showed signs of how much he had gone through.

“Mmm, I like ‘ere!” Kyungsoo requested, pointing to one side of the desk over the other, and Chanyeol obeyed because he knew how picky the smaller twin was these days.

“What’d you learn today, pumpkin? Letters?”

Kyungsoo hummed, not really giving an answer and becoming distracted as he grabbed Chanyeol's hand in both of his, “Daddy an mommy same.”

Chanyeol snorted, pressing a kiss to Kyungsoo's head, “Mommy and daddy both have rings, yes, do you know why?” He whispered, watching Kyungsoo's little fingers play with the new band resting on his hand.

“Why, daddy?”

“Because we love each other very much, and love you and Jongin so much that we’re going to be together forever, just like I promised you, huh? Daddy never breaks promises.”

“Because it’s mean.” Kyungsoo answered, widening his eyes at the computer screen, but keeping his hands to himself even as Chanyeol pulled the desk chair closer to reach for his mouse.

“Because it's mean and hurts feelings, that’s right my smart boy.” Chanyeol answered with a smile, “Do you want to listen? Are you going to help daddy?”

Kyungsoo pouted his lips and nodded, cutely leaning over to rest his elbows on the desk and both hands on his cheeks and Chanyeol knew he must have learned so from Baekhyun because his fiancé was known to sit in weird positions for absolutely no reason other than he was cute - Chanyeol swore he was unbiased… really, completely unbiased that Baekhyun was adorable.

“Let’s see, let’s listen to this one.” Chanyeol cooed, clicking on a track and knew the twins had no idea what they were doing, but Kyungsoo scrunched his face up like he was analyzing and nodded his head to the music anyways. “Daddy was thinking about adding something else, what do you think, baby?”

“I think!” Kyungsoo cried, fingers hovering over the keyboard in front of him, but not touching at all, “Add button?”

“Ah, so smart, how come I didn’t think of that!” Chanyeol cried dramatically, “You push and see what one you like, sweetheart.” He added, sitting back and rubbing Kyungsoo's spine.

It was rare they really let the kids in here anyways, one time letting him play with the keyboard wouldn’t hurt.

And Kyungsoo was overly excited to do so, but also was taking his time to actually listen to the noises that came out when he pressed buttons.

“Hey. Are you causing trouble?”

Chanyeol snorted and shook his head as he turned to look over at the door, not surprised Kyungsoo didn’t even acknowledge Baekhyun - too busy working.

“The worst kind, always the worst trouble with this one.” Chanyeol teased.

“Huh.” Baekhyun mused, “Weird, Kyungsoo is not usually the one breaking stuff, maybe it was him that broke their remote and not Jongin.”

Chanyeol chuckled and shook his head, because they both very much knew it was Jongin that had “broke” the remote in the twins room, crying about it all day when the truth really was he dropped it and all the batteries rolled out so that’s why it wasn’t working. “Where’s that troublemaker?”

“He’s waIting for us in the living room.” Baekhyun smiled, leaning against the doorway, laying a hand over his stomach and Chanyeol really loved the action and wanted to soothe the ache for the smaller too. “I ordered us pizza, surprised you didn’t hear it come in a few minutes ago; Jongin was bouncing all around for it.”

“Craving?”

“Of course.” Baekhyun mumbled, smiling secretively, “Very hungry these days, Chan.” He cooed, rubbing his stomach a small bit.

Chanyeol laughed under his breath, and felt like Baekhyun was having way too much fun being secretive about the pregnancy even though neither of the twins really could understand a thing. “Okay. Soo, dinner time, little owl.”

“Dis one!” Kyungsoo answered, pressing a button a few more times and looking at a Chanyeol, “Daddy, found it.”

And, surprisingly, Chanyeol chuckled and hit the button once more, tilting his head towards the additional beat, “Actually… baby, I think that’s really good.” He whispered in disbelief.

Kyungsoo shrugged like he already knew, climbing off Chanyeol's thigh and was nonchalant as he went to wrap his arms around Baekhyun's leg.

“Ah, is our baby going to be like daddy? You going to make music, Soo?” Baekhyun asked, laughing at Chanyeol's still confused look as the man began shutting down the computer.

“No.” Kyungsoo responded, bouncing on his feet like he wanted up, “Sing like mommy.”

“Let’s get him in vocal lessons.” Chanyeol said instantly, and Baekhyun started giggling at his urgency as the man back hugged him, making it very difficult to walk down the hallway.

They both knew Kyungsoo was merely a toddler, and it was way too soon for him to commit to anything more than watching the new episodes of Paw Patrol on Sunday mornings before Jongin just because he knew it made his brother angry to be behind, but it was nice that Chanyeol wanted to support them so fast.

“Do you think he could learn music notes?”

Baekhyun cackled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chanbaek stories are the cutest, I’ll have to write more from now on! I just started the other Chanbaek one, so check that one out!


	29. Spitting Facts

_“Yeah, I mean I haven’t heard anything back yet, Chanyeol, but when I spoke to his attorney things looked pretty good for us; she seemed pretty… reluctant to really add anything when she tried to make a deal, like she was being extremely careful with her words.”_

Chanyeol snickered, sparing a glance at Baekhyun sleeping on the couch, “Probably because she basically victim blamed last time and it was on tape,” eyeing the smallers back as he stood up to go fix the blanket around his shoulders, running his hand across Baekhyun's cheek gently, “They just keep digging holes.” 

_“As sad as it is to say this,”_ Junmyeon mumbled, _“But the more they fuck up, the better it looks for us; I mean it’s horrible - the video I saw when combing through, you guys don’t deserve to be talked to like that.”_

“Yeah, well, it was mostly Baek. As soon as they saw each other it was literally like watching a lion feed, it was insane, Junmyeon. I honestly thought at one point Baekhyun was going to fight back, but he really… just kind of let it happen. I can’t… I can’t even think of… of how bad it would have been with just the two of them together.” 

Junmyeon sighed deep into the phone and Chanyeol knew the man must have felt extremely guilty, and a passing thought was he _should_ because Chanyeol really just hated thinking of Baekhyun as a victim of domestic violence, and didn’t understand at all how him and Minseok hadn’t noticed a thing.

But they _had noticed_ , they noticed things and it was Baekhyun that denied them, and somehow it made it all worse.

Youngmin obviously didn’t even care if people were around - didn’t even care that he was in prison for fucks sake and _still_ verbally abused Baekhyun, spouting all sort of nonsense of how fat he had gotten, how he had abandoned and walked out on him, that Baekhyun had stolen his chance to be a father.

And he knew Baekhyun felt bad about all these things even if he didn’t admit so at all.

He knew Baekhyun had lied for a few days after saying that he wasn’t hungry until Chanyeol coddled him into eating, and it was such a good thing now - because they had an entire baby to feed inside Baekhyun too, but Chanyeol had just been so worried for his fiancé back then. 

It was a little painful, bordering on jealous, that Baekhyun even cared enough of Youngmin’s opinion of him to want to lose weight - conscious or not - but Chanyeol also understood that’s how Baekhyun had been conditioned to think; Youngmin’s opinion came first, and there was only so much that time could do to heal such intense manipulation.

_“How’s the baby, by the way? I hope you’re taking really good care of them, know you are, Yeol.”_

Chanyeol knew that Junmyeons statement sounded in some way guilty, but didn’t think too much of it because there was no point in holding a grudge over events that occurred years upon years ago, Minseok and Junmyeon really sounded like they punished themselves enough for not helping. “The baby is fantastic, I think soon we’re going to have to have that reveal, there’s only so much a sweater can cover and Baekhyun has been gaining pretty quickly. He’s so small I’m surprised I didn’t notice sooner, but I also just figured he was eating more, his medicine finally helping after so long.” 

_“He always looked adorable when he was pregnant with the twins, his cheeks gain a lot and it’s very cute. I hope he looks twice as cute though, given the help.”_

“Of course. Definitely making sure he eats a ton. He doesn’t really have any problems eating, if anything he makes himself more than he should.” Chanyeol joked, shaking his head as he ran his fingers over the shell of Baekhyun's ear before standing up and moving to the kitchen to get a drink, “No, but really, the doctor said he was doing really well this morning. Baekhyun mentioned getting the baby gendered soon, but I think he wants it to be a surprise, something to reveal at the party.” 

_“That baby re-“_

“Oh.” Chanyeol interrupted under his breath, setting his glass of alcohol down and reaching for Baekhyun's phone on the island, “Hey, i'll call you back in a second, man. Someone is calling Baekhyun, an unspecified number.” 

He heard Junmyeon hum an acknowledgement and was quickly swapping out the phones.

_“This call may be monitored and recorded, press one to accept any fees that may apply.”_

Chanyeol accepted immediately, because he had so much to fucking say to Youngmin. 

First of all, how dare he fucking contact Baekhyun, secondly, that he's a fucking piece of shit and if he _ever_ gets out Chanyeol was going to be the first to beat his ass, probably followed closely by Junmyeon, and then Chanyeol again - because he hated the man more than he’d ever hated someone _ever_. 

Honestly, he hated Youngmin so much he was surprised he hadn’t fucked up and hit him the few times he saw him, but he had been way too worried for Baekhyun to really pay him any attention. 

_“Hello, dollface. Did you miss me? I missed you. I know you might be a little upset about our last meeting, but don’t worry about it, I’ll forgive you this time. It must be your emotions from seeing me catching up, huh? You must have missed me so much to go making up stories to get me jealous. I know there’s no way you would have that rich pricks baby, right, sugar?”_

Chanyeol’s jaw was already clenched at how blatantly manipulative Youngmin was at first opportunity, the sad part was Baekhyun would probably believe it. Now, he just wanted to see how far Youngmin was willing to go.

Actually, he smirked to himself and pulled up his phone recording app. 

It said it _may_ be recorded, but Chanyeol wanted to make complete sure it was.

 _“Why aren’t you responding, Baekhyun?”_ Chanyeol could tell how quickly the man’s short fuse was going off, almost immediately at no response, _“I said we weren’t fighting, don’t worry about it. Now, let’s discuss those kids, my attorney says things are looking really good for me, pumpkin. We might as well just call it a day and get back together for the kids, you know.”_

Firstly, it was amusing Youngmin was lying through his teeth when Chanyeol, not even minutes ago, had been speaking to Junmyeon, an actual _lawyer_ , and knew their case was going much better than Youngmins.

_“Baekhyun? Baekhyun, you know I really, really fucking hate when you ignore me. It really pisses me off, doll. Really pissing me off Baek-“_

“This isn’t Baekhyun.” Chanyeol couldn't stop himself as Youngmin’s voice got more of a hiss, he didn’t find it scary at all, but then again he had no reason to find him scary - but Baekhyun did, and very much found Youngmin scary. “This isn’t Baekhyun you lying son of a bitch. How dare you call just to harass him! Don’t you have any common sense, or is your goal always to terrorize him? Why the fuck can’t you just leave him alone? Fuck. I swear to god he’s never seeing you again.” 

_“Ah, just the man I wanted to speak to, having fun raising my kids?”_

“Do you even know the kids names?” Chanyeol scoffed, leaning over the island and holding his own phone higher to make sure it was picking them up, “They’re amazing children. You don’t even know their names or their birthday. You don’t know the first things about them. Why the hell do you even pretend?” 

He was surprised when Youngmin paused for a minute, but didn’t have to be surprised too long, _“Okay. Listen up. Man to man.”_

Chanyeol had a feeling he wasn’t going to like what he had to say at all.

_“Being a man is hard, you know? Baekhyun isn’t loyal, and it’s hard to be with him, hard to stay loyal to him - I’m sure you know that, superstar and all, lots of opportunities. But in here it’s a lot harder, ain’t nothing to do, everything is way more expensive and twice as boring. So, lemme just make a deal with you, man. You keep my bitch, you can keep my kids, just send a little my way and I’ll drop this whole thing.”_

Chanyeol literally couldn’t function. 

He had no idea if he was insinuating that he was doing all of this because he was _bored_ , or if he was just doing this so he could see Baekhyun because, apparently, watching the smaller terrified was fucking _hilarious_ to him. 

He didn’t even want to interpret exactly what he meant, but he knew one thing for sure.

Youngmin was trying to make him pay him off.

That was fraud, it was blatant fraud and Chanyeol didn’t even give a fuck that Youngmin was asking for money - maybe in the beginning of all of this he would have paid him off to spare his family this entire stressful process - but he was mostly fucking livid that Youngmin had tried to pretend to Baekhyun that he wanted the kids.

The man had thrown an entire teary eyed fit and almost convinced Baekhyun he wanted them - he must have known Baekhyun loved children, because it was, admittedly, a good act. 

Fuck. He was so mad. The kids definitely didn’t deserve this, they deserved a father ten times - no, a million times - better than Youngmin, and it was so confusing to Chanyeol how the fuck Baekhyun ever wanted to be with this piece of shit anyways.

“Funny.” Chanyeol sneered, “Because you’re a goddamn idiot, and I’m not going to bribe you to drop a case that we’re _winning_ . Also, prison phone calls are fucking recorded, so good luck wiping this clean. Now, you can go rot in your fucking cell forever for all I fucking care, alone, and “bored.” And I will be… as you say, a “rich prick” and go spoil my pregnant _fiancé,_ and my beautiful children - Kyungsoo and Jongin, if you were wondering - rotten because they fucking deserve it. Asshole.” 

Chanyeol really didn’t have a lot to say after he hung up, opting to send Junmyeon the audio recording to do with as he liked, probably going to act on their restraining order requests because there was no way they wouldn’t at least give them temporary ones for now.

“Chan?” 

He grabbed his glass, and honestly didn’t feel too mad anymore, if anything… he felt relieved. More relief than even Junmyeon was able to offer him. 

“Hey, baby. Feeling okay? Stomach still hurts?” Chanyeol inquired sweetly, taking a seat on the arm of the couch and petting Baekhyun's hair, still unsure why the smaller liked to nap here, but if he was comfortable it hardly mattered.

Baekhyun smacked his lips like he was extremely tired still, reaching up to grab Chanyeol's wrist, “Thirsty.” 

“Ah, here.” Chanyeol whispered, setting his glass down for the half empty water bottle on the table, “Careful for the baby, honey. You’re so cute when you wake up, you know?” He crooned playfully, running his hand over the back of Baekhyun's head when the smaller man sat up properly.

Baekhyun giggled and spared him a droopy eyed beaming smile as he tossed the water back on the table, obviously uncaring it didn’t even land properly. “Heard you talking, to Jun?” 

Chanyeol laughed when Baekhyun started pulling on his arm, his intent to cuddle obvious, so he moved to situate himself on the couch properly, immediately getting a lapful of the smallers upper body as he laid back down. 

“We’re winning, baby. In fact, I have a really good feeling this is all going to pass by very soon.” 

Baekhyun usually was half aware if he didn’t get at least thirty minutes or so to wake up, so Chanyeol wasn’t really surprised at his random mumbling, “That's good… good, Chanyeol. Didn’t like…” 

Chanyeol smiled as Baekhyun half dozed off, rubbing his hip, “Didn’t like what, babe?” 

“It… it wasn’t the wind at all, Chanyeol.” 

“Of course it wasn’t, Baekhyun. Of course, baby. I believe you, always believed you.” 

“Yeah…” Baekhyun whispered, shifting onto his back and reaching up to curl his fingers around Chanyeol's neck, familiarly asking for a kiss. 

Chanyeol leaned down to grant him it immediately, pressing their lips together softly because Baekhyun was half asleep, and because his fiancé simply deserved to be treated gently. 

Baekhyun even after just waking up was adorable though, parting his lips with a soft sigh that felt like it said everything without him having to say a thing. 

“Love you.” Chanyeol murmured into his mouth, pressing his open mouth gently over Baekhyun's as his fingertips brushed back the smallers hair from his temple, running his fingertips gently over his skin. “Loved you since the first day.” 

It was so true. It was so entirely true even if Chanyeol hadn’t known back then, but he had known Baekhyun had to be it for him - had to be his future or else he didn’t know if he would ever have one so happy.

And Baekhyun laughed an almost silent breath against his mouth, smiling and Chanyeol didn’t have to even look to know it was his boxy, crazy beautiful smile, only kissed at the corner of his mouth more. “Love you too. Always.” 

“Hm. Didn’t feel like it when you were so hard to get!” Chanyeol cried playfully, pulling away to peck Baekhyun's forehead. “My little angel, playing hard to get.” 

It wasn’t really true, Baekhyun had accepted his date immediately, but it felt like he had played hard to get when the first few months Chanyeol didn’t even know if Baekhyun even _liked_ him.

“Love you now then.” Baekhyun giggled, eyes closed as he ran fingertips over Chanyeol's stubbled jaw, “I love you a lot. I’ll give you more kisses.” 

Baekhyun was too adorable for his own good, and Chanyeol was definitely going to bug him later for those kisses - when he wasn’t already dozing off into dreamland. 


	30. Gender Reveal

“Wait, don’t move.” Chanyeol requested.

Baekhyun whined but rolled back onto his back, “Chanyeol, we need to get the house ready.”

The elder simply ignored what he didn’t want to hear, sitting up on his knees and pushing Baekhyun's shirt all the way up to his chest making Baekhyun giggle when he realized what the man was doing - as if he hadn’t done so a million times this morning already.

“Chanyeol, honey. My love. You’re a monster.” Baekhyun teased, tangling fingers into Chanyeol's locks as the man pressed kisses to his stomach, all that way down to his belly button.

“It looks so cute. There’s no way nobody is going to notice.”

“I guess it doesn’t really matter then,” Baekhyun laughed, “because they’re finding out tonight anyways.”

Chanyeol hummed against his skin, “Mhm, did you see if Minseok was picking up the cake. I can’t wait, baby. Whatever color it is - I don’t give a damn, i'll buy that baby anything he or she ever wants.”

Baekhyun very much knew it was true, as Chanyeol really did that for the twins too, so often it was too much spoiling.

“Let’s settle for clothes first, and a crib.” He requested, rubbing his thumb over Chanyeol's brow, “Necessities first, my love.”

“But… the baby needs stuff to play with.” Chanyeol whined, pressing his cheek down on Baekhyun's hip with a pout way too childish for his nearing thirty years.

“Just get up here and kiss me.” Baekhyun snorted, moving his hand to cup Chanyeol's jaw when the man was quickly moving to do as requested, laughing under his breath at the move.

Baekhyun knew he had been extremely horny lately, but he couldn’t help that he was in love with the feeling of his fiancés lips on his, or his hand running over the growing stubble of Chanyeol's jaw.

It was just all nice when they were kissing each other, pouring their affection out without having to say a word despite that they reiterated their love for each other so many times a day that the twins had gotten in the habit of doing so too.

But sometimes it was softer to not say a thing at all, to just accept his tongue running across Chanyeol's lip, to be able to feel the deep rumble when he moved his palm down his fiancés neck and nipped at his lip.

Baekhyun, to a degree, just liked that he could affect such a powerful man. A man that had many people before, but still looked like a giant puppy when Baekhyun wanted to taste his mouth.

As if kissing was their first time everytime, as if they hadn’t made out so many times that Baekhyun could feel his lips swollen hours later - mainly because once Chanyeol found a way he liked them he was hard to get to stop, and Baekhyun's mouth a pretty red was his favorite color.

“Mm, kids will be up soon.” Chanyeol muttered against his lips, but didn’t pull away at all, only licking over Baekhyun's mouth and eyeing him darkly.

Baekhyun merely smiled, looking at him half lidded and moved his thigh up in between Chanyeol’s thighs, swallowing his fiancés groan easily, “We have time, handsome.”

***

“Ah, babe. If you keep being like this we’ll have to cancel this entire thing.” Chanyeol threatened playfully, checking his phone for any of his friends saying they were here.

Most of the messages just consisted of them saying the alcohol they were bringing, as expected when they only thought this was a get together; only Junmyeon and Minseok knew it was an announcement - well, a few.

Baekhyun took his tongue between his teeth and stole another kiss before dangling himself over Chanyeol's arm, pressing another kiss below the man’s ear and reading over his shoulder. “Can you tell a lot?”

Chanyeol's smile expanded instantly, turning to look at Baekhyun's outfit as if he hadn’t checked him out a million times already. “Very much, baby. You look so hot.”

“I look like a pregnant carrier. Not very hot.” Baekhyun whispered under his breath with a glance towards the uninterested twins - who still didn’t know about the pregnancy.

“You’re always hot.” Chanyeol argued with a playful mad expression, nipping at Baekhyun's jaw. “Fucking hot, baby. So sexy.”

Baekhyun threw his head back in a bunch of giggles and Chanyeol took the opportunity to kiss his pulse dramatically loud, just because he knew Baekhyun loved it.

“Disgusting!”

Chanyeol snickered at the door hitting the wall and the twins screeching squeals, pulling Baekhyun to his chest to hide his front. “Don’t break our kids.” He commented, watching Yifan throw Jongin over his shoulder.

“Come to uncle! Yes, you love me the best, right?” Jongdae cried, holding a grocery bag in one hand and the other picking up Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo nodded sweetly, and they all knew it was mostly because he was a sweetheart and didn’t like to hurt people's feelings.

“Baek! You’re not going to come give me a hug! Get that pretty face over here!” Luhan scolded, holding the door open for the others.

Baekhyun blushed as Chanyeol fixed a scolding look towards the man.

“Ah, our Baekhyunnie looks very healthy! I saw you a few weeks ago and you’re glowing more now!” Zitao added, holding a bag for Junmyeon as the man carried the cake in.

Chanyeol smiled proudly into Baekhyun's hair as the smaller dug his face into his chest, “Go ahead, baby. I’m very proud.”

Baekhyun whined and kicked at Chanyeol's foot, obviously not interested in being the one to tell them, but Chanyeol had a huge grin on his face, and knew the man just liked to see his embarrassed blush anyways.

So he sighed, shyly pulling himself off Chanyeol's chest to soothe his sweater over his stomach, the fabrics slightly caught on the front of his bump, but hidden behind the island. “I’ve gained some weight, feel a lot better.”

“Can see that, you look so cute.” Yixing cooed, not even caring for Chanyeol's possessive hand being laid over Baekhyun's shoulder. “Very healthy, Baek.”

Baekhyun grinned, cheeks slightly pink before he sent Minseok a smile as he saw him opening the box at the dining table.

“Go on, my beautiful baby.” Chanyeol cooed, pressing a kiss to his temple and making his way over towards the dining room.

Baekhyun cleared his throat awkwardly and walked around the island, fingers moving to fix his hair behind his ear. “I feel really good, in fact.”

It was dead silent except for the twins babbling to them even though their uncles weren’t paying attention, but distracted because there was no denying the roundness to Baekhyun's stomach - the roundness to his face could be excused if by itself, but combined with his stomach and the way the small man was leaning more back to balance, even if it was minuscule, it was obvious and written all over.

“Holy fuck!”

“Sehun!” Minseok chastised immediately.

“Holy fu-fudge!” Sehun continued, almost knocking Baekhyun over to touch all around his stomach and waist, “Baekhyun! Fu- oh my god!”

“Chanyeol.” Yifan laughed under his breath disbelievingly, “Congratulations, man. Wow.”

“Are you so excited?” Baekhyun heard Jongdae cooing, and struggled to look over Sehun's shoulder when the man was busy coddling and touching him and Luhan wasn’t too far behind. “Are you going to be a big brother? You guys will be such good brothers.”

They hadn’t told the twins, so they expected screeching or even crying, anything that showed the surprise the twins felt even though they didn’t know a thing about babies.

But all Baekhyun saw was Jongin sitting up on his knees to pass Jongdae his learning tablet, probably wanting him to read to him. “Yup.”

Baekhyun snickered when he saw the offended look on Chanyeol's face and knew he expected a grander reaction too.

“Babies.” Chanyeol mumbled, obviously disappointed, “You’re not surprised? Mommy is having a baby and you’re not surprised at all?”

A few of their friends started laughing at him and Baekhyun snickered too, more amused and embarrassed at Luhan pressing a kiss to his cheek - good thing Chanyeol was very distracted.

“Um!” Kyungsoo pouted his lips as he tried to figure out how to open Yifan's phone for games, “Heared Min talk bout buy baby clothes!”

“Minseok!” Chanyeol whined, more of a whimper and Baekhyun heard them full on cackling at him.

Minseok looked so attacked, “Soo! It was a secret, remember? We don’t tell secrets!”

“Oh!” The toddler frowned and jumped up to hold onto Yifan’s neck as he looked over the back of the couch, “Won’t tell!”

“Ugh, I’m so upset!” Chanyeol continued, glaring at Minseok, “I wanted pictures of their reactions.”

“What a dad thing to do.” Luhan laughed into Baekhyun's ear, fingers searching for Baekhyun's hand to pull him towards the couch, “You guys will do fantastic, well, as expected of you, but Chanyeol will do great.”

“I know.” Baekhyun said honestly, blushing, “A very… good dad, a good husband.”

“Pretty ring.” Jongdae added instantly to his words, “When is it?”

“Ah, why the hell do you guys only tell us now! I’m getting so drunk and then I’ll drunkenly cry!” Sehun whined, working his way into the dining room for alcohol.

“We’re not sure yet.” Chanyeol answered before Baekhyun, and the smaller wasn’t surprised at all by the plate being set on his lap, “Maybe after the baby is born. We’re still… settling in.”

“You guys have been living together over a year.” Yifan pointed out.

“No.. I mean, just with recent events we just… want to focus on the kids and the baby for a while before having to plan something so stressful. He’s already so far along, the doctor estimated towards four months, but since Baekhyun is so little we didn’t.. or I didn’t suspect a thing.”

“You little fox!” Zitao laughed, “Baek, you totally knew, didn’t you? Ah, my baby is growing up.”

“You guys are the same age.” Yifan snickered at his boyfriend, pressing his chin to Kyungsoo's shoulder to help him find a game to play.

“I knew for.. at least two months, but… the timing was all wrong, morning sickness was pretty bad but also stress was so strong that I felt sick from that too - so I wasn’t a hundred percent positive.” Baekhyun explained, feeling calmer when Chanyeol was petting over the back of his neck and sharing half the attention - it was his fault after all.

Chanyeol pressed a kiss to his jaw and rested his chin calmly on Baekhyun's shoulder, arms wrapping all around his side and the smaller grinned, holding Chanyeol’s thigh as he took a bite of his food.

“That’s cute and all,” Baekhyun pouted at Junmyeon interrupting, “but I have a cake waiting to be cut so we can figure out the gender, and a handful of approved restraining orders.”

Baekhyun's smile got wider at that, feeling nothing but relief.

“Cake!” He heard Jongin squeal, and figured they were happy for different reasons as, obviously, the twins had no idea what a restraining order was.

Their friends were pretty quiet even when Baekhyun sniffed a few times, crying the smallest bit, but mainly just over the fact they wouldn’t have to worry about their phones ringing, wouldn't have to worry about getting their mail.

Wouldn’t have to worry about Youngmin at all.

“Nini, hold on, hold-“

“No, it’s okay.” Chanyeol combed Baekhyun's curls off his forehead, pressing into the smallers side comfortingly, “Min, he can cut it if you help him - let-lets see what color it is.”

“I call blue!”

“Watch it be pink now,” Yifan teased his boyfriend.

“I swear if it’s twins again Baekhyun is magic or some shit!” Jongdae cried.

Baekhyun giggled at that, wiping his face into his shirt as he watched Chanyeol move the plate off his lap even though it wasn’t eaten, Kyungsoo bouncing past almost knocking it off the table in his hurry to get cake.

“That’s really good, Baek.” Chanyeol whispered under his breath, grabbing Baekhyun's hands to pull him up, pressing their fronts together and cupping the smallers face in both hands, “So happy, baby?”

Baekhyun only lifted his face for a kiss, fingers curled tightly into Chanyeol's shirt, and usually he didn’t go for so much affection when others were here - even if they weren’t paying attention to them - but he really didn’t care right now.

Not even as Sehun started up super loud about the cute decorated cake, probably trying to get their attention so they could cut it.

They didn’t even care about seeing how pretty a cake Minseok and Junmyeon had chosen, the inside was what mattered after all.

“Love you, beautiful.” Chanyeol mumbled, pecking his forehead and resting his nose on Baekhyun's head, “It doesn’t matter what gend-“

Jongin's loud excited squeal cut him off followed by a bunch of clapping.

“Wow, it’s so-“

Yixing smacked Jongdae's arm and shook his head, “What color is it? Is it so pretty?” He cooed at the twins.

Baekhyun turned his head to press into Chanyeol's chest and laughed at Kyungsoo being held super close to the ceiling at Yifan’s shoulder, “Pretty! It-it’s pink!” Kyungsoo squealed.

“Can I have it now!” Jongin grumbled, making grabby hands across the table.

“Pink.” Baekhyun whispered, eyes filling up again as Chanyeol grabbed his chin and looked a million times more excited than he did - and he was plenty excited.

“A girl.” Chanyeol gawked before his wide eyed smile was making Baekhyun laugh, “Baekhyun. Baek, a girl.” He added louder as if he hadn’t heard the first time, gently shaking Baekhyun's face between his palms. “A-A - Baekhyun! Bae-Baek, I love you.”

Baekhyun heard their friends cooing, but he really wasn’t surprised at all by Chanyeol picking him up in a hug, debating on teasing his fiancé that he was lucky his stomach wasn’t getting in the way yet, and that in a few weeks he likely wouldn’t be able to pick him up at all.

But he didn’t. Baekhyun just combed his hair and laughed at Chanyeol's blubbering and stutters as he started sentences and then seemed to not even know what he was trying to say.

They really couldn’t blame him, and Baekhyun knew that their friends would never let him live down his childlike crying, but for the moment they were ignoring it - just talking amongst themselves and letting him and Chanyeol enjoy their elation.

Chanyeol hadn’t ever experienced having a child before, not a baby, and Baekhyun had felt this feeling - had gotten to feel this before - but it was all by himself.

And it felt so much better with Chanyeol here with him - with a full house and with their family explaining to the twins that they’d have a baby sister; even though Kyungsoo and Jongin didn’t care about anything but their cake.

“Princess.”

Baekhyun almost thought he was calling him that and was ready with a tease, but Chanyeol was only setting him to his feet and pressing his nose into his stomach, kneeling, “Hey, my princess, my baby. Hi, it’s your daddy.”

Baekhyun really didn’t want to cry as bad as Chanyeol did, but at least he could blame hormones for his tears.

~~~~~~

“Pink means a little sister.” Baekhyun whispered as he closed the half empty cake box, looking at Jongin across the table.

It was way past the twins' bedtime, but they all had such a day that they were just waiting for the twins to take their time to pass out from their sugar rush - because Sehun really didn’t know when to tell the twins no more.

Kyungsoo was usually out around the same time every night, but Jongin liked to try to work his way around his tiredness.

“Ew,” the toddler mumbled like he hadn't been told this exact thing all day today - the kids probably just hadn't been paying attention.

“Ew?” Baekhyun snorted, placing the tip of his thumb in his mouth to get the icing off, “You don’t want a little sister? You get to protect her, and play with her, you can teach her lots of things, Nini.”

Jongin pouted his lips in thought, spreading his hands all over the table, “Coloring? Soo likes coloring? And- and we can play toys?”

“She’ll be really little for a while, too small to play big kid things, but in a few years she can play toys and color.”

“What does she do then?”

Baekhyun giggled and shook his hand out for Jongin to grab, having gotten lectured for getting caught trying to pick Kyungsoo up earlier and all of their friends were on him for straining himself, and he knew they were right. “She just will drink from a bottle and… and just do baby things, sweetheart. She’ll cry a lot, but she’ll want to see you and Soo, and look at her big brothers. So you have to take care of her because she’ll be very easy to get hurt, okay? Like Soo because he’s smaller than you, but she’s going to be really tiny, Nini. Understand?”

“Yes mommy. Baby is little.”

“That’s right, my baby.” Baekhyun smiled, unsurprised at all as he pushed the twins door open and saw Chanyeol sitting on the soft bean bag chair in the corner with a book in his hand, Kyungsoo probably had just gone to bed. “Give daddy kisses so we can go to bed.”

Jongin pouted, looking like he wanted to whine before he only nodded and puckered his lips for a kiss at Baekhyun, “Baby is tired too?”

“Your sister is tired, you’re so smart, Jonginnie.” Chanyeol chirped as Baekhyun pressed a kiss to Jongin's cheek and steered him towards Chanyeol, knees protesting at him sitting on the end of a toddler bed, he knew he was going to be all kinds of sore for doing these things.

“And she - she’s hungry!” The toddler added, as if he knew everything, but blinking up at Chanyeol for his approval anyways.

Baekhyun snorted, pulling back Jongin's blankets and patting the bed, “Yeah, yeah, mister know it all, bedtime.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The story will probably be finished before you know it!
> 
> Also: in my drabble collection I’m currently writing a story where Chanyeol meets Baekhyun when the latter is still a baby, and they’re mates, it’s really cute!


	31. Flowers & Accidents

“Mommy!”

Baekhyun laughed and shook his head fondly as the twins ran out of school, backpacks wiggling as they ran over to him.

“Hello. Did you guys have a good day?” He cooed, grabbing Kyungsoo's hand and giving Jongin a look to grab his pant leg.

“Flowers, we learn flowers!” The taller toddler explained excitedly, jumping on his toes as Baekhyun fished in his satchel for the car keys.

He hummed in acknowledgment, still struggling over his ever growing stomach to open the backseat and pat the car seat for Kyungsoo to get in.

The struggle to buckle them up was getting worse everyday.

Of course he wouldn’t ever mention so to Chanyeol though or the man would never get off his back - not that he disliked it - he loved it a lot, in fact, but his fiancé worried too much for his own good.

“Don’t lean over so much, baby.”

“Ah, shit, babe. Don’t scare me like that - I’ll carry you around!”

“Yixing said it wasn’t good to walk so much!”

It was adorable, truly, but Baekhyun had already gone through pregnancy before - alone, so with help and without stress this was a breeze.

But he also understood Chanyeol never got to experience or otherwise have a carrier give him a child, and Baekhyun was extremely happy to even think he was able to give Chanyeol something so special.

Chanyeol was adorable.

“Mommy, we learn flow’r.” Kyungsoo added as Baekhyun climbed into the driver's seat, locking the doors and smiling as he looked at the rear view camera to back out.

He used to hate driving, he really hated it before, but recently - since his feet were not up for walking so much with the added pressure - he had been taking the car a lot, especially on days where Chanyeol actively had to go to his company to work and pick up whatever mail or requests he had to bring home to work on.

“Yeah? What flowers, baby?” Baekhyun wondered, turning to pull onto the street.

Usually when he had the car he took the kids to get something to eat or to play for awhile, but he was in a sort of needy mood today, the baby was moving so much and being so active that Baekhyun just really wanted to see Chanyeol.

So he figured it would be best if he took the highway to his company and then possibly convince the man to come out to lunch with them - which would be easy since Baekhyun had the twins - plus, he could hang on Chanyeol's arm and relieve the throbbing caused by his swollen ankles.

It was good to get some exercise, but god Baekhyun didn’t miss the pregnancy pains.

“Um! Um…”

Baekhyun glanced into the mirror to see Jongin toying with his backpack in his lap and Kyungsoo's brows furrowed as he tried to remember.

“Take your time, baby owl.”

Kyungsoo looked much more relaxed at that, and Baekhyun remembered his first meeting with the speech therapist in which she told him and Chanyeol to just be patient and supportive with Kyungsoo - back then he was slightly offended because it wasn’t like they were trying to push his baby to suddenly learn, but now he realized it was an important thing, because Kyungsoo really needed time.

Also, it got Baekhyun wondering just how many parents overlooked or didn’t support their child or children with developmental, physical, or learning issues.

It was despicable and made him sick to even consider blaming Kyungsoo for his own communication delay, it wasn’t his fault at all, sometimes children just needed extra attention.

“Too-wip!”

“Oh, yes, so pretty, Soo. Are those your favorite?”

“I like dany- dannnyl… dand-“

“Dandelion.” Baekhyun helped, “Me too, flowers are so pretty. Mommy loves flowers.”

“Daisies!” Jongin cried, suddenly interested now that Kyungsoo was getting all the attention, both twins bursting into giggles like they knew something really funny Baekhyun didn’t.

“Ah, you know what mommy’s favorite is?” Baekhyun inquired with a laugh at the twin, “Daddy brought mommy roses when they met, do you remember? Mommy said, ‘Don’t spend money on flowers when we can see roses for free!’ And daddy still kept giving mommy roses, it was nice, your daddy is…”

Baekhyun's brows raised with a sudden realization, excitement filling him, “Roses are daddy’s favorite too.” He murmured, words sitting on the tip of his tongue.

He stopped at a stop sign, looking around to check before he started moving again, “Boys, what do you think about-“ Baekhyun saw headlights, and panicked, jerking the wheel to the side, but it was too late.

  
***

Chanyeol was having a weird day.

Weird because normally by this time Baekhyun would be updating him about what he and the twins were doing, but he hadn’t gotten so much as a text and it had been a good hour or so since Baekhyun must have gotten the kids.

He wasn’t worried per say, but found it strange.

Just as strange as the sudden number calling him on his cell when normally everyone called his work phone when they knew he was in.

“Hello?”

_“Hello, this is Second Union Memorial Hospital, is this a Mr. Park Chanyeol?”_

“Yes?” Chanyeol frowned.

_“Sir, I’m calling to inform you Byun Baekhyun and two children were transferred into our care, we ask that you please come down at your earlies-“_

“What happened? Are they okay?” Chanyeol growled, knocking a stack of folders off his desk as he stood up to grab his bag, already walking out of his office before remembering he didn’t have a car today.

_“I apologize, but until your identity is confirmed I cannot disclose details over the phone, but they are being taken care of.”_

“Fuck.” Chanyeol didn’t bother with anything else, hanging up and throwing his phone into his pocket and bursting into Yifans office.

Normally he would feel bad for interrupting him and Zitao having lunch together since it was rare, but he was storming in, bypassing the two sitting at Yifan's conference area to start going through Yifan’s desk. “Where’s your keys man? I need your car.”

“What? Why?” Yifan called, alerted and standing to his feet just at how frantic Chanyeol was.

“Yeol? You… need to calm down a second.” Zitao worried.

Chanyeol’s face contorted as his eyes began to water, turning around to look at them with his heart racing and sweat pooling nervously on his brow, he felt faint. “My family is at the fucking hospital! I need your car!”

“What? What happened? Fuck. We'll take you.” Yifan said instantly, jogging around his desk to open the drawer.

“I don’t know,” Chanyeol whispered, covering his eyes with his palm, “Fuck, I-I don't know.”

“Hey, I’m sure they're fine,” Zitao whispered, grabbing the bag from Chanyeol's hand and touching his arm, “Don't cry, I’m sure they’re okay.”

“Can… can you drive fast enough?”

“We’ll speed, Yeol.” Yifan promised.

They did speed, going over twenty faster than they should on the highway, but Chanyeol couldn’t help feeling like Yifan wasn’t going fast enough, like he was rushed on time and felt sick to his stomach.

His hands shook the entire car ride, eyes shooting around every time Yifan took a turn and got closer, it was painful.

And as soon as Yifan was close enough Chanyeol was literally jumping out even though the car wasn’t at a complete stop, leaving all his things inside, hearing Zitao yell a scold but really couldn’t give a fuck as he ran into the hospital, dodging the staff and people walking around.

He ran to the front desk, hands pressing down on the counter and a bit breathy from his run, “Byun Baekhyun - what room?”

The receptionist peered up at him like she was shocked at his rudeness, but Chanyeol literally didn’t give any fucks about formality right now, and she must have seen the panic on his face. “Identification please.”

Chanyeol’s hands shook so much that it took longer than it should have for him to get his wallet out and shakily hand it over, cursing under his breath that he couldn’t calm down enough to function without shaking.

And the woman took so long to type into her computer, so fucking long he was debating on saying fuck it and just running down halls in order to find them himself.

The clock on the back wall clicked, and only three minutes had passed but it felt so much longer.

“Confirm your relationship please.”

“Fiancé, father of his children; god, just please tell me they’re okay! Those are my kids, that’s… that's - he’s pregnant, please just… just… the kids are fine right? All of them are fine?”

She stared at him in pity and he didn’t even care that she was about to see a nearly thirty year old man sob on the desk like a child. “It seems that they were in a car accident, according to our reports both children are fine with the exception of a few bruises, your fiancé sustained a few minor injuries, testing was done on the fetus due to his demand, both mother and fetus are healthy.”

Chanyeol's mouth opened and closed and he was relieved, but not enough without seeing them.

“Can we get a room number, we’re close friends. We’ll escort him in, he’s shocked.” Zitao mumbled, laying a hand over Chanyeol's spine and the man hadn’t even realized when they came.

Probably some time in between his tearful fit and his knees getting numb.

“Room 307.” She murmured.

Chanyeol literally had to hold Yifan’s arm to steady himself as they scoured the halls for the room.

Hospitals had never given him anxiety before, and he had been plenty of times, but now it felt like he was rushing head first into traffic, the rushing nurses and doctors, wheelchairs squeaking, gurneys squealing, it was scary.

“Go.” A hand touched his spine and Chanyeol hadn’t even realized when they made it to the room, almost like he was in a trance.

But once he realized where he was he shoved through instantly, leaving the door wide open as invitation behind him - Zitao and Yifan could come in if they liked.

“Daddy!”

Chanyeol felt more tears filling his eyes, but this time because the twins were fine.

Well, as much as he could see at first glance, because he was running over to the cot the two were sitting on, legs swinging as they drew.

“Daddy!” Jongin echoed, arms coming out with a giggle and pink marker stains down his fingers.

“Oh god,” Chanyeol murmured, wrapping arms around both of the twins and kissing their heads, “Oh god, hey, daddy’s here. Daddy’s here, babies. You okay? Fuc- my babies, oh my god. Daddy is here, it's okay.” He felt like he was going to have a panic attack and could only continuously press his lips back and forth to the twins hair, sighing in relief, but also in pure panic.

“Daddy, boo boo.” Kyungsoo muffled into his arm and Chanyeol gulped, crouching down and reluctantly releasing them.

“Where at? Let me see.”

Kyungsoo didn’t look that concerned or anything of the sort, him and Jongin both just looking excited to see him as if he had just gotten home from work - what did Chanyeol expect really, they were merely toddlers and probably hadn’t a clue how scared he had been.

“It’s ‘kay.” The toddler shrugged, pointing to a bruise on his arm.

Chanyeol shouldn't have felt so upset over just a bruise he should just be happy it wasn’t worse - and he was - but he also just felt so worried and instantly pressed a kiss to his bruise before turning to Jongin and kissing an even smaller bruise on the toddlers knee.

“I take care Soo! I cried but Soo okay!” Jongin explained with a pat to his smaller brother's head, looking at Chanyeol for praise.

And he was giving it, instantly. “Daddy is so proud. It must have been really scary, but my boys are okay so I’m really proud. Daddy would cry too, cried when he heard so it’s okay to cry if you’re scared.”

Jongin smiled prettily, all pearly teeth on display and grabbed Kyungsoo in a very painful looking hug, but the smaller didn’t even whine as was usual when Jongin was too rough, only wrapped little arms around his brother.

Chanyeol smiled but still felt choked up and pressed his forehead into where the twins legs were touching with a heavy sigh, hiding his tears in their shorts and laughing slightly when he felt a little hand pat his head - probably Jongin because he had learned the cute habit.

“Yeol,” Zitao whispered, walking into the room to gently tug Chanyeol's shirt, “You gonna see Baekhyun?”

Truthfully, Chanyeol's thoughts jumped around so much he had forgotten to look around when he had seen the twins, so he pulled back to press his lips to the twins cheeks once more and turned around.

Baekhyun was just laying there, looking more guilty than anything - and exhausted, but he had a bruise on his temple and what looked like stitches in his cheek and Chanyeol felt like he could have been sick from that alone because he had never ever wanted to see him look injured to even a small degree, just like the kids. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t - I- oh my god, are you okay? Baby, are you okay?” Chanyeol worried, rushing over to the bed Baekhyun was propped up on and instantly searching for his hand, and when he found it Baekhyun's arm was all scraped up and he felt even more scared, kissing at his wrist.

“Okay.” Baekhyun murmured, “Police said a man sped past the stop sign, it was an accident but the car is wrecked, I’m sorry - you loved that car.”

Chanyeol actually laughed, and he wasn’t amused at all, his teary eyes said as much, but he laughed. “God, Baek, I don’t care about the car. I just care that you guys ar- are okay, fuck, you… you - god, I love you and I don’t give a shit about the car.”

Baekhyun laughed then, just a small noise under his breath and a slight smile. “Good, I felt bad.”

“You’re ridiculous.” Chanyeol growled, hand not holding Baekhyun's reaching out to cup his cheek and gently running his thumb under the butterfly bandage to his cheek, “This hurt? We’ll get you some medicine.”

“My back hurts more.” The smaller murmured quietly, “Sore, but I mean… we’re okay so I can’t complain.”

“You can complain,” Chanyeol said instantly, “You can complain for an entire year and I wouldn’t get tired of it. I’ll carry you out of here, I’m just - I’m just so happy you guys are okay, Baekhyun. You have.. you have no idea how.. I thought I was going to throw up, but then it just felt like a nightmare, and I can’t stop shaking - I just… we… we’ve come so far, and the twins will go to kindergarten soon, and we just… you just took my ring and we need to get married, and… oh god, is the baby okay?”

Chanyeol was instantly moving to rest a hand to Baekhyun's stomach through the thin hospital blanket, “Hey, hey, princess, are you okay? Kick for daddy.”

Baekhyun snorted at him, but Chanyeol only started moving the blankets and shirt to see his bare stomach. “She’s fine, Chan.”

“Oh, baby,” Chanyeol whispered, pressing his lips to Baekhyun's bruising hip, “My poor baby.”

“Oh, I almost forgot.”

“Baek, if you’re going to say something to distract me from this then-“

Baekhyun giggled, but reached down to scratch Chanyeol's scalp, “The kids learned about flowers today and it got me thinking…”

“Baekhyun.” Chanyeol murmured with a frown. “Don’t distract me, let me baby you.”

“What do you feel about Jangmi?”

Chanyeol sighed and Baekhyun knew it worked when his fiancé was sitting up to kiss his lips a bunch of times, “You know I love roses.”


	32. House vs. Home

Baekhyun had been allowed release the next day, only having to stay for observation overnight due to fears of him having a head injury.

That hadn’t been very reassuring for Chanyeol at all, especially because he hadn’t slept without Baekhyun in well over a year, but at least he had the twins to take home.

But, he knew Baekhyun must have had an even harder time sleeping, alone, pregnant and sore.

So Chanyeol had been expecting how exhausted Baekhyun was when he arrived, because even he hadn’t slept well despite the twins being all over him since it was rare they all shared a bed.

“Babe,” Chanyeol laughed because as soon as he was walking in with a wheelchair - just for precaution - Baekhyun was closing his eyes instead of opening them to greet him, “Rude.”

“Sh,” Baekhyun whined, throwing his arm across his eyes, “Feel safer when you’re here to watch over me, let me sleep.”

Chanyeol licked his lips with a slight chuckle, but his heart jumping at his words was undeniable, “You can’t just say stuff like that, I might pass out.”

“We’re engaged,” Baekhyun murmured with an amused tone without moving his arm from his face, “We have kids together, I think you should be able to handle it.”

“Never, baby.” Chanyeol whispered, deciding to give Baekhyun a little while as he started grabbing the few items they had brought Baekhyun last night, shoving them into a duffle bag.

It wasn’t much, but just a few spare clothes because they hadn’t been sure at the time when Baekhyun would be able to leave, and only this morning was told he was cleared.

But, Chanyeol hoped Baekhyun at least took comfort in his pajamas that drowned the smaller as that’s what his fiancé had chosen to wear out of the many options given.

“You didn’t give me a kiss.”

“Thought you were going to sleep, grumpy.”

“Can’t sleep now that you’re here and not giving me attention.”

Chanyeol snickered, dropping the bag on the floor and walking towards the bed, “Next time you’re at the hospital, it better be for our baby. I can’t handle this, and Junmyeon looked like he was going to beat me up when he came to pick up the kids this morning.”

Baekhyun laughed, moving his arm into Chanyeol's lap when the man took a seat on the side of his bed, “So dramatic, my love.”

The elder only grinned, laying a palm on Baekhyun's hair and leaning down to press a few pecks to his mouth, noses brushing and Chanyeol was sure to be extra careful of the bandage on Baekhyun's cheek.

“I couldn’t sleep last night either, missed you too much. We’ll both be insomniacs if we have to stay apart longer, beautiful.” He joked, pressing another kiss to his fiancés mouth and a last one to his forehead before resting there.

Baekhyun merely hummed in agreement, grasping Chanyeol's jaw and tilting his head up for more affection, “How’d you get here? Taxi?”

“You think I’d bring you home in a taxi?” Chanyeol chuckled against his lips, sitting back up to pet the hair from Baekhyun's face.

The smaller blushed in embarrassment, delivering a hit to Chanyeol's thigh.

“No, baby, we got a rental until our car is fixed - since it was the other person's fault their insurance is paying for it to be fixed, but it will be a while.”

“Don’t think I want to drive for a while anyways,” Baekhyun muttered, curling his hand into Chanyeol's, “I thought the kids were hurt, I was so scared and woke up in the ambulance to the twins crying.”

Chanyeol gulped because he probably would have been terrified too, bringing Baekhyun's hand to his lips for a kiss, “They're already over it. Running around like nothing, it wasn’t your fault baby, you’re a very safe driver.”

“What if I lost our baby, Chanyeol? I just… I-“

“Sh, no, no, honey, everyone is fine.” Chanyeol cooed, leaning over at Baekhyun's wavering to rest his forehead to Baekhyun's temple, “Everyone is fine, you’re fine, Nini and Soo are fine, Jangmi is perfectly fine. That’s all I care about, there’s no need for what if scenarios, okay?”

“Chan-“

“No.”

“Chanyeo-“

“No, b-“

Baekhyun snorted and threw his hand over Chanyeol's mouth, “I was going to say I love you, but if you want to be that way I take it back!”

Chanyeol pulled his hand away with a laugh, shaking his head, “I could say it back, but I guess we aren’t doing that today!” He teased back.

“Fine!”

“Good.”

Baekhyun burst into giggles and threw his arms around Chanyeol's, nose pressing into his shoulder as he pulled the man closer, “Love you.”

“And I, you, my love.” Chanyeol swooned right back, petting the back of the smallers head.

***

Baekhyun was perfectly okay, but Chanyeol just hated to see him all bruised up and was babying him even more than normal, wondering when the time would come for Baekhyun to tell him to leave him alone.

But it never came, if anything Baekhyun didn’t even seem to care about how clingy Chanyeol was.

“Did I tell you I drew up baby’s room plans?”

Chanyeol hummed in response to that, sending Junmyeon a text letting him know he could bring their kids back whenever he wanted - which, knowing Junmyeon, would probably be a while longer.

“It’s not… very good, I mean… I just drew it like a child, it’s not better than any of the twins' drawings, but it gets the point across.”

Chanyeol laughed at Baekhyun's nervousness, but was quickly dropping his grin to climb off the bed and sighing as he eyed the bruises on Baekhyun's skin.

The smaller drying his hair with one hand and holding his stomach as he stood in boxers beside the bathroom.

Chanyeol walked over to grab the towel from him, silently urging him to sit down on their bed, which consisted of Baekhyun using his arm for support to get up, and drying his curls, “I’ll look at it in a moment, but I’ve been thinking.”

“About what, my love?”

The man smiled, pressing a kiss to Baekhyun's ear and tossing the towel on the floor before instantly becoming distracted and kissing the corner of Baekhyun's eye, “Does it hurt?”

Chanyeol knew he was fussing, but he laid Baekhyun down carefully anyways, moving to pull down the edge of his boxers just enough to look at the bruising around his hip and side.

It really wasn’t that bad, realistically it could have been much worse, but Chanyeol was irrationally pissed off looking at them.

Baekhyun merely hummed, cupping Chanyeol's jaw to bring him back up towards his face, “I’ve had worse, it’s nothing. What were you saying?”

That didn’t help ease his anger much at all, only making his jaw clench, but he pressed a kiss to Baekhyun's nose and pretended he didn’t hear a thing, adding another to his lips when his fiancé smiled coyly.

“I was thinking,” He began, wrapping his arms beneath Baekhyun's back and earning a pleased squeal when he shifted the pregnant carrier more into the middle of the bed so he could climb in. “Perhaps it’s time for a bigger place.”

“Chanyeol…”

“Wait, listen, I have points!” Chanyeol defended, “The kids need a backyard to play in, they need a playroom so we don’t constantly have to drag their toys back into their room, the twins are getting big so we’ll need an extra room for when they decide they want their own. I want a pool, Baek, I want to teach them to swim. And maybe a dog or a cat, teach them responsibility-“

“Chanyeol.”

“And! And, you can have your own space, maybe some sort of studio, hm? What do you think? I’ll put pictures of you all over my office, baby! Maybe not because it might distract me too much,” Chanyeol added, nipping at Baekhyun's cheek and wiggling his brows.

The smaller giggled, licking his lips before giggling, “Let me actually say my opinion before you start cutting me off again! Geez, so rude today, Chan!”

Chanyeol chuckled, but was well prepared to argue his reasoning further with the main point being Baekhyun hadn’t ever had a home before.

Sure, their apartment now was way big enough for them and the baby, but Chanyeol wanted to be prepared, and he wanted a lot of kids, and he wanted whatever Baekhyun wanted for the future.

And if that included a million crawling babies then so be it, even if it was a dog, a cat, a bunny, whatever the hell they wanted they would need room for it.

And he wanted to do those cheesy family get together and cook outside on weekends and have all their friends over and brag about whatever the kids had learned or done.

He just wanted to give Baekhyun and the kids a home, the apartment wasn’t a home, not really, because it wasn’t permanent.

Chanyeol wanted it to be permanent, where the kids could get in trouble for writing on the walls, but they would mostly pretend to be mad even if they probably wouldn’t cover it up. Or where they could play ball outside or ride bikes.

He was a daydreamer, and Baekhyun was more realistic, so he was afraid of his answer.

“Only if we can get a puppy, and I want to name it, Chanyeol. I’m not kidding, I get dibs on names!”

Chanyeol sagged in relief before Baekhyun burst into giggles at his expression and struggled to roll on his side and toss a leg over Chanyeol's hips, “What? You thought I would say no? Come on, you know I’m a sucker for puppies and pools.” Baekhyun teased, pressing a kiss to his fiancés jaw.

The man snorted, trailing his hand over Baekhyun's leg to rub his ankle, “Don't get me imagining you in a pool, baby, you're in no condition to seduce me right now.”

Baekhyun took his tongue between his teeth because Chanyeol was really ridiculous, smiling and pressing his chin into his fiancés shoulder before pouting his lips, “No fair, when we get a new room we’ll have to try it out, Chanyeol. Let’s hope I can still move by then.”

“Can you move right now?”

The smaller beamed, trailing his hand down Chanyeol's shirt, “Maybe not for much longer.”

Chanyeol laughed before turning to urge Baekhyun's leg off his hips and sit up on his knees, heat pooling at the sound of his fiancé’s giggling and he knew he was just giving right in to whatever Baekhyun wanted - but who the hell cared when his fiancé was fucking gorgeous.

“I’ll tell you what?” He cooed, laying a careful palm over Baekhyun's stomach and spreading his legs to kneel in between them, “You stay really still this time, and I’ll start calling around as soon as we’re done, hm?”

Baekhyun chewed his lip and could feel the pull of his stitches in his cheek but he didn’t need to ask Chanyeol to be careful, he never did.

“Are we going to be one of those couples that fucks on a desk? Are you turned on by desks these days, Chan, because you could really use a new one.”

Chanyeol burst into laughter, but was already peeling Baekhyun's boxers back and shaking his head fondly, “Only turned on by desks if you’re on them, baby.”

Baekhyun cackled.


	33. House Hunting

House hunting wasn’t as easy as they expected. Time was passing quickly, and Baekhyun was getting so big Chanyeol wondered when exactly he would start complaining about walking around so much, but he never did.

Chanyeol should have expected as much when Baekhyun had gone his entire pregnancy with twins up until he physically couldn’t stand anymore.

Still, he worried, even more so about how many homes they had gone to and not one was perfect.

That surprised Chanyeol too, because he expected to be the picky one and assumed Baekhyun would fall for just about any one.

That wasn’t true at all, it was all Baekhyun asking the realtors a million and one questions and getting a curled lip when he saw something he didn’t like.

It was really cute because Chanyeol had never seen Baekhyun act spoiled at all, but when the smaller had told Chanyeol no to a nearly perfect house just because he didn’t like the carpet Chanyeol just let it go without fight, because he thought it was really entertaining - even if they were running low on time.

He was getting pretty anxious, but if they paid in full Chsnyeol was hoping that the realtors would have the paperwork filled out faster once they chose, and a moving crew was easy and convenient to hire, so that wouldn’t be a problem even if Chanyeol took a week off in order to set up the house.

In the end, even if it took way longer than needed, he would be happy with whatever Baekhyun settled for because at least he knew it was what his fiancé wanted, and he deserved to have his dream house.

Despite being on a countdown until Jangmi came and slowly becoming more passive aggressive when he found people’s attitudes rude, Chanyeol also thought it was cute even if he had to escort Baekhyun out of his office days prior because he thought a client was flirting with Chanyeol.

That was funny too, and Chanyeol would never tell Baekhyun he was pretty sure the man had been flirting, but Baekhyun was feisty when it came to him and he loved it.

“Appointment is in an hour or two, my love.” Baekhyun's fingers attached to his shoulders and Chanyeol laughed when he felt him whine because his stomach stopped him from back-hugging the man.

Baekhyun was getting pretty whining too, mostly about his stomach being a huge cock block and just not helping him be able to get the attention he wanted.

They had to compromise a lot.

“I know, baby, I was just looking up moving companies Yifan recommended. The kids coming?”

“Soo is still mad we boxed up his Batman pajamas.”

Chanyeol snickered before shutting his laptop and turning around, having to stand at Baekhyun's side so he wouldn’t put too much pressure into his stomach as he hugged him to his chest, “Don’t you dare go try to unpack them, Soo can live with it a while longer, baby.”

“Don’t know if I can live like this any longer!” Baekhyun claimed dramatically, whining into Chanyeol’s shirt and shifting a lot of his weight on the man’s chest.

“Mimi is so big, she’s hurting mommy.” Chanyeol swooned, kissing Baekhyun's temple a few times before rubbing his stomach for a moment and pulling back, “We can drop them off with Sehun, I don’t want to get their hopes up.”

Baekhyun nodded, pouting his lips for a kiss and turning to seat himself on a chair on the island before kicking his legs out towards Chanyeol, “Can't bend down to put my shoes on, Chan.”

Chsnyeol chuckled before beaming and shaking his head as he fixed the sock that was half on Baekhyun's foot like he gave up halfway through, “I’ll go get your shoes, baby. Just a little longer, cupcake.”

***

Chanyeol was pretty apprehensive about a two story, but with the amount of space he wanted they needed to get one.

He mainly didn’t want one because of Baekhyun's wobbling, and in fear the twins or baby would take a tumble, but both of them were pretty good at watching the twins, so he was mostly paranoid.

Plus, it seemed Baekhyun really liked them, because even if it was a two story he wasn’t put off in the slightest by it, despite struggling to get upstairs.

Like now, he was holding the rail tight and Chanyeol felt horrible being the cause of his struggle even if it was for an amazing reason.

“Babe, here, hold on.” He requested, getting on arm beneath Baekhyun's knees to lift him up with a slight groan.

Baekhyun laughed at that, “I’m getting too heavy for you.”

“Not at all,” Chanyeol argued, “The angle was weird, baby, don’t assume I still can’t toss you around. Always so little.”

It was the truth and a lie, because Baekhyun was so big, cheeks round and constantly flushed, so cute, but Chanyeol was positive if his stomach didn’t protrude so much that he could still hold Baekhyun hours on end.

He was also extremely skewed and missed being able to pick the other up more intimately.

“You two are cute, how long have you been together?”

Chanyeol saw Baekhyun grin and was way too pleased with the sweet kiss to his jaw as he set the smaller to his feet and threw his arm out for Baekhyun to hold onto. “Nearing three years now. With.. our recent addition, we decided it was time to change.”

“Well!” The realtor chirped happily, a big smile on her face, “I hope this home suits you guys, up here is four bedrooms, a bit big for the three of you, but who doesn’t love extra space? And wait until you see downstairs, it’s completely redone!”

“Oh, we also have two twin boys, it will be five of us soon.” Baekhyun commented, twisting a door open to peek inside while squeezing Chanyeol's arm.

Chanyeol already thought this house was perfect, it was way larger than Baekhyun had wanted, but after a lot of consideration - and Chanyeol begging - they agreed to go for a bigger house for the future, and so they could have spares.

“Perfect then! As you can see, the master is directly beside one of the smaller rooms, perfect for a nursery. Across the hall is one of the first of three and a half bathrooms, one and a half downstairs, and a full inside the master bathroom and a half between this room and down the hall a bit.”

Truthfully, neither of them really listened much to realtors, because they always said the same things, always promoted the same things: huge windows, big backyards, remodeled kitchens.

They didn’t overly care for any of those, the big question was whether they could picture themselves here or not.

“Soo likes to see outside.”

Chanyeol hadn't even realized Baekhyun let go in order to walk into one of the smaller rooms and look at the window, “What was that, baby?”

Baekhyun smiled and peered over his shoulder before pointing out the window, “I think Kyungsoo would like to see outside. It might help him focus more, remember he's been learning so much about plants lately, I think it’s really helping him become interested in trees and nature.”

The view from this room really was gorgeous, it overlooked tall hedges and that had been one of Chanyeol's main requests - tall fences or something that ensured people couldn’t see into the backyard.

It made him feel slightly guilty because they had to overlook many homes because of his request - even if he wasn’t nearly as picky as Baekhyun - but he didn’t want his family to have to deal with paparazzi or anything of the sort, although Jongin thought he was really cool that pictures of him and Kyungsoo on a walk with Sehun made it in magazines.

‘Top model pictures along with CEO Park Chanyeol's children: part time model, part time babysitter?’

That one was pretty funny, and Chanyeol knew Baekhyun didn’t mind the publicity so long as his fans weren’t being rude or annoying, but he still felt bad that anywhere they went someone was bound to snap photos of them.

They didn’t ever ridicule the twins, but he had a long talk over the phone with a company threatening to sue them when they had gotten a photo of Baekhyun just as he started to show and basically implied he was gaining weight and whether Chanyeol would move on fast due to this.

Baekhyun didn’t go online much, so Chanyeol was glad he got that off the news fast and released a statement protecting Baekhyun by admitting to his pregnancy and asking for privacy during this exciting time.

He also never really went on his own media, but photos he began posting of their family pictures racked up a lot of likes and sweet comments he shared with Baekhyun, ignoring the rude ones because he didn’t have time to deal with jealous and daydreaming fans.

Baekhyun was it, and he didn’t care how many disturbing direct messages or crying demands from them to leave him, Chanyeol was devoted, and there was no other response.

Instead he’d just post more photos, fuck them, because he didn’t need their approval to be happy.

“The pool is fenced off - if you were wondering.”

Chanyeol felt Baekhyun startle against his chest before turning to acknowledge the woman. “The pool… how deep is it?”

She smiled and Chanyeol laid a palm on Baekhyun's spine to follow along, “We can go back down, I assume you guys are finished here. But… the pool does go about five feet, but, for someone as tall as Mr. Park, I’m sure it’s no issue.”

Chanyeol snickered at that, and heard her laugh also, grabbing Baekhyun's arm just in case the rail wasn’t enough support as they started down the stairs.

The stairs were slightly curved, tan carpet covering them and a redwood rail, very beautiful, but Chanyeol was still overly concerned and dramatic.

“Ceilings are so pretty.” Baekhyun mumbled under his breath, looking up at the high ceiling.

“You’re pretty.”

Baekhyun huffed and hit his arm with a smile, “Don't be disgusting.”

Chanyeol grinned, kissing his head.

The home itself was unimaginable, they’d definitely need a lot more furniture to fill it up with the same tan carpeting running across the floor with the exceptions of a white and gold marbled entryway, kitchen, and dining area.

Their were basically two living rooms, and Chanyeol heard Baekhyun whisper under his breath that the smaller area could be a study and play area for the kids and knew that this was the house because by now usually he would have heard Baekhyun point something he didn’t like out, but he didn’t.

“Two bedrooms down here and there’s a sort of.. library room that has just an archway instead of a door, it’s built-in shelves are to die for, they were placed in only recently by…”

The rest drowned out as they walked into the room, the walls were painted a blood red which was a stark contrast to the light blue of the actual living room and hallways, but it somehow meshed well.

“Wow,” Baekhyun gawked, laying his hand on Chanyeol's spine to lean over the man and look at the shelves.

It really was beautiful, the shelves were black and all around the room, but not in an insistent and ugly way, but precisely made with purpose.

“All the albums you made, they could all fit.” He added, curling fingers into Chanyeol’s button down, “Could be your office if we throw a baby gate up. The kids like to see what you’re doing anyways.”

Chanyeol smiled to himself, turning around to wrap both arms around Baekhyun's shoulders, “You know I don’t mind having them in my office, baby.”

Baekhyun smiled up at him, putting his chin on Chanyeol's collarbone, “You won’t be saying that when Jangmi rips all your cords out, handsome,” He crooned, scratching at Chanyeol's scalp gently.

The producer merely snorted, leaning down to press a kiss to Baekhyun's lips, “Tell me, beautiful, yes or no?”

“You like it?”

Chanyeol hummed, kissing Baekhyun's cheek and looking up towards the doorway.

The realtor had been pretty good about giving them time to discuss privately, much different than the past few who had been on them too much, coming off too strong.

Probably because they assumed Chanyeol would be more critical than he was.

“I like whatever you like, my love.”

“Well I like you.”

“Too bad I’ve already chosen this house, don’t like you anymore.” Baekhyun teased, scrunching up his nose.

Chanyeol rolled his eyes playfully before patting Baekhyun's ass gently, “Tell me that again when you’re not carrying our baby.”

The smaller giggled at that, but just turned away to start touching the shelves again, Chanyeol smiled at him fondly, kissing his temple, and started towards the doorway, walking down the hall a little further before spotting their realtor looking over papers, “How fast can the sale be approved?”


	34. New & News

“Park Chanyeol buys a multi-million dollar home only months after announcing expecting a third child with still no comment on hiding his previous two children, reported partner still has given no comment whilst Parks agency has issued a statement reporting that personal affair- Hey! Jongin, no!”

Baekhyun dropped his phone with a sigh before trying to sit up.

“Hey, I got him!” Jongdae cried, running across the room to grab the toddler under his arm and dragging him away from the boxes of kitchen supplies.

“Baek, you really just need to stay seated,” Luhan worries across the recently moved couch.

Chanyeol had gotten things done extremely fast, including movers to drop in, and with the help of their friends they were now trying to get things situated in their vague spots, but it was hard not to stress out about when you were more than eight months pregnant and felt like a whale.

“I’ll stay seated the day Sehun stops over feeding my kids,” Baekhyun commented, sending Sehun a raised brow as he looked out into the patio.

The man quirked his lip up at that but proceeded to give Kyungsoo another candy anyways, being completely unhelpful when everyone else was moving shit upstairs and Sehun definitely had the muscles to help.

Baekhyun just snorted, grabbing his phone from the cushions again. “I’m always curious about what these articles have to say, Chanyeol says I shouldn't be reading them though.”

“You shouldn’t,” Jongdae agreed, seated on the floor and giving Jongin over his phone when the toddler gave him an angry look. “Usually it’s like 40% truth and 60% lies.”

“Mommy! Look!”

Baekhyun smiled and accepted the flower from Kyungsoo’s hand, leaning over to kiss his son's cheek, “Oh, thank you, baby. Tell uncle Sehun to be careful of my baby near bees, okay?”

Kyungsoo nodded and it was really cute that he patted Baekhyun's stomach like he petting an animal rather than trying to say hello to his sister, turning to run back through the backdoor.

“Maybe you should make an account,” Luhan shrugged, “Like, on Instagram, Chanyeol has one. That’s how I speak to my fans and Sehun's fans approved a lot more of me once I started to show more of us together, they start to realize we aren’t as they expect.”

“I don’t need approval,” Baekhyun laughed, “I don’t care, they can think I’m like.. the worst person to exist and it won’t mean a thing between Chanyeol and I.”

“True,” Luhan agreed, shrugging a small bit, “I just think you could get a head start on your career, you don’t need a degree to sing, Baek. And I think your voice is already beautiful, plus… you have your hands full and we worry about you being too stressed out with the kids, school, now the pregnancy, and soon the baby.”

It was true. Baekhyun had gotten so distracted during the break he had even forgotten to enroll this semester for classes and he cried for a good few days just because he felt like an idiot.

Nothing Chanyeol had done cheered him up, even if the man was right and said the timing wasn’t that great right now, and that Baekhyun needed to rest stress free after all the Youngmin shit they had to deal with.

It wasn’t even that he liked school, it was just that he wanted to make money too, he didn’t always want to rely completely on Chanyeol for everything even if he knew that his fiancé was well off and hadn’t a care in the world if he didn’t make a single dime.

Baekhyun cared though, not because he thought he and Chanyeol wouldn’t work out, but because he wanted to show himself as not only ‘Park Chanyeol’s husband that relies on his rich husband for everything’ but ‘Baekhyun who has a pretty voice, and just so happens to be married to Park Chanyeol.’

The differences were huge.

He wanted to still be affiliated with Chanyeol, of course, but he wanted it to be himself first and then to be recognized as an after fact that he was Chanyeol's husband.

“Chanyeol… the other day, he said something about maybe I should, get photos done. I mean, he’s completely biased and has to say so, but… I mean, he said half the appeal is looks, which sounds so entirely stuck up-“

“But completely true.” Yifan drawled as he walked down the stairs, covered in sweat, Baekhyun tried to lean over to the coffee table to grab him a glass of water but could reach over his stomach, smiling sheepishly instead. “What are we talking about?”

“If Baekhyun should make an instagram. Baek, sit back, please,” Luhan answered, picking up Baekhyun's ankle and forcing him to lay down.

“Oh, completely,” Yifan mused, taking seat on the chair opposite them, “Chanyeol brought it up the other day if it would be unfair if we started representing Baekhyun, because.. you know, relationship claims, but if we do it under my side of the company everything is fine, no issue because it would have my name and the percentage of sales would go to my branch even if it’s under Chanyeol.”

Baekhyun already knew Yifan ran a different side of the company, one that focused more on artists and auditions, talent, rather than the more production and lyrical side of things.

It was known to be hard to pass auditions though, and Baekhyun found it odd considering Yifan was really sweet and didn’t seem strict, but guessed his work persona must differ a lot.

“I just..” Baekhyun blushed, “Would people find it unfair? Using connections in order to get a spot in a high end company, I know so many people try to audition into your branch, Fan. I just… I’m not that good, I’m real-“

“Baek,” The other laughed, “You being with Chanyeol has nothing to do with me thinking you’re good. As you said, we audition a lot of people and I still think you’re really good, and you’re pretty so it really helps. I mean, I won’t lie and say you being with him won’t give you attention and I’m not drawn to that, I am. But, we’ve done this before, I mean… Lu is in our company, and him being with Sehun definitely does gain attention.”

It just felt like he would be getting handed a job instead of working for it, but, then again, would anyone else reject such an offer?

Especially considering Baekhyun had long been through getting cursed out in customer service, getting physically, verbally, and sexually harassed in various different jobs, it wasn’t fair.

And now, working wouldn’t really be about money at all, but about having something to do.

“If it makes you feel better, I consider your Christmas song your audition, and if Chanyeol sends me a signed contract with your name on it later, I’ll release it under my branch immediately. Twenty million subscribers would hear it first, just let me know.”

Baekhyun whined at the mention of the song, still embarrassed they always brought it up when it was for Chanyeol, not their entire circle of friends.

“Huh, Nini?” He heard Jongdae coo, “You want mommy to sing? Want to sing mommy’s songs?”

Jongin gasped dramatically, pushing his hair out of his eyes before jumping to his feet, “Dance!”

“You want to dance to mommy’s songs?”

Jongin nodded and started wiggling, arms up as he pointed at the tv, “Dance!”

Baekhyun knew he only wanted them to put music on so he could dance, not that he specifically wanted Baekhyun to sing, but it felt good anyways.

~~~~~~~

“Hey, Chanyeol.”

He heard the man hum across the room, and Baekhyun sat up in order to move against the headboard to watch Chanyeol shaving his face in the connecting bathroom.

Baekhyun wasn’t really a big fan of how empty the walls were or the boxes just sitting around, but his fiancés and their friends had at least gotten all the furniture into rooms and the boxes into the rooms they belonged in, so that was a lot of work already done in one day.

He was really proud, infact, because he hadn’t been able to do much of anything because Minseok screamed at him for even trying to lift up a box.

So, he did a lot of planning instead and thinking.

“Did you know Luhan wants me to make an instagram?”

He saw Chanyeol frown in his reflection before he was rinsing his face off and glancing at Baekhyun in the mirror, “I mean, we’ve discussed it before, but I’m still pretty nervous, Baek. You know not all the things I show or tell you are.. the nicest of things.”

“I can’t expect to sing and not get any hate, Chanyeol.”

He knew Chanyeol worried though, the man always claimed he just wanted to make sure Baekhyun never felt the way he once had before, and that was impossible so long as he wasn’t being beaten to a pulp by the man he loved the most - which was Chanyeol.

So, as long as Chanyeol always loved him, he wouldn’t ever be able to feel so worthless.

“Baby, I just… you know it’s complicated, and I don’t want to have that be your only choice because you think it needs to be, we can find other choices, you can go back to school and I will use my leave to take care of the kids. Working from home isn’t an issue, sweetheart.”

Baekhyun liked to take care of the kids, even if he did like it much better when Chanyeol was home, that wasn’t the problem at all. “I just don’t think school is for me, Chan, I just… want to try something else. Yifan said he would release my Christmas song as my audition, do you think it’d be okay if he did that and then I can decide if I like the attention or not? Luhan already set up an instagram for me, it’s on private and has nothing on it, but he said as soon as I do that it’d gain attention… is it, it bad that I want to see what it’s like? He said I could always delete it or put it in private.”

“You can always do what you want,” Chanyeol said immediately, walking around the bed to get to his side, sitting down on the edge and scrolling throw his emails, “You know I’m never going to control you from doing what you want, baby. You sound like you already made up your mind, and I support whatever you do either way.”

Baekhyun smiled, eyeing Chanyeol's back and scooting over to throw his arm around the man’s neck, pressing a kiss to his bare shoulder. “You’re really hot, have I ever told you that?”

Chanyeol snickered, bending his head to kiss Baekhyun's arm, “You’re so horny these days, that or you’re buttering me up, which one, beautiful?”

“Well.” Baekhyun pouted his lips against Chanyeol's shoulder, “I was thinking…”

The elder laughed and shook his head, turning to sit correctly and helping Baekhyun into one of his thighs and instantly rubbing his sore hips, “What is it, my pregnant little monster?”

Baekhyun giggled, leaning back to put less strain on his spine, “Is it possible… for the Christmas song, if Fan releases it, can… my portion not go to me?”

“Why wouldn’t you want that?”

Baekhyun chewed on his lip for a second before reaching out to hold Chanyeol's shoulders for support as he turned on his side to settle between the man’s legs, cheek pressing to his bare chest, “I just think… we have enough money, you know? And it’s really hard for people out there, so we should give back a little. I want to have it donated to… a children’s shelter, maybe to schools to help children with disorders more? I just want to give it to kids.”

Chanyeol didn’t say anything for a good minute before laughing and kissing Baekhyun's hair, “What about a domestic abuse shelter, baby? I’ll double whatever your song makes for domestic abuse shelters.”

Baekhyun's eyes welled up as he nodded, pressing a kiss to Chanyeol's sternum.

He knew Chanyeol would have done it anyways, hell, Baekhyun could have gone and donated without Chanyeol's permission and the man probably wouldn’t have blinked an eye when it disappeared from their shared account.

But, he knew Chanyeol was asking his permission, because there would be a lot of suspicion and stigma once his donation was public knowledge.

“You can write it, you know.” Baekhyun whispered, reaching out for Chanyeol's phone, “In your donation, they’ll… a-ask if you want to write a note. You can say it. I’m not scared, people shouldn’t be afraid.”

“I love you.”

“I.. I love you more,” Baekhyun cried.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wasn’t planning on updating so soon, but my anxiety is through the roof at the moment so here you go.


	35. Going Live

Baekhyun’s Christmas song was released.

And, along with it came his account being made, and Yifans announcement of him signing of a contract.

People seemed to really like him for the most part.

His first photo was just of Kyungsoo and a scrunched face grin with a flower behind his ear, and after Sehun liked and commented on it, his account went exploding.

Well, it was likely a combination of things.

One being that his song had garnered close to five million listens in three days.

Two, that Baekhyun's song had a description in which it claimed all profit went to a children’s communication development project at the artists request - Yifan’s team didn’t have to wave the entire profit, but they did, and Baekhyun thought it was a great thing - and finally, Chanyeol donated without so much as even looking at what Baekhyun's made, and didn’t even wait an hour to see how many people were listening to the song.

He just did it. He just threw out three hundred thousand to three different domestic abuse shelters with a note, ‘We believe you.’

Baekhyun cried for hours, so much that Chanyeol looked panicked when he called to check in and Kyungsoo answered with a ‘Mommy sad!’

Baekhyun wasn’t sad, he was just really happy, but hormones didn’t exactly react the same as they did normally when you were as far along as him.

Now, he had millions of followers, most of them coming over from their friends' accounts when Yixing, Sehun, Luhan, Yifan, and Jongdae began to follow him.

It also very much didn’t help that Chanyeol was commenting as soon as he posted, so much so that Baekhyun teased him until he admitted he turned on notifications for him.

That was fine because Baekhyun did the same for him.

Chanyeol was just so cheesy though, and Baekhyun was so embarrassed that the man didn’t even care and would comment hearts and even an embarrassing, ‘That's my baby, so beautiful.’ On the one selfie he had up.

That one had the most likes of all his photos, and he’d be lying if he said it didn’t feel good.

“You should go live to explain your choice to donate.” Luhan murmured, “Sehunnie is mad because he says you’ll have more followers than him soon.”

Baekhyun giggled at that, rubbing Jongin's stomach where his son was sprawled out by his legs watching television, almost asleep.

Luhan had shown up hours before, bringing lunch and claiming to congratulate Baekhyun even though he was days late.

Baekhyun was positive he just wanted to see the kids because he had worn the twins out - which Baekhyun appreciated because he really couldn’t do much with them right now.

At least Kyungsoo hadn’t thrown anymore fits that Baekhyun couldn't play with them, he used to be pretty upset about it until Chanyeol sat him down and explained that he needed to be easy with Baekhyun when he threw a fit and nearly smacked Baekhyun In the belly early on.

“How do I do that? Show me?”

Luhan laughed at him and got an annoyed grunt from Jongin when he stood up in order to move to sit behind Baekhyun on the arm of the couch instead. “Let me see.”

He passed Baekhyun back his phone a few moments later, leaning on his shoulder. “Look, so many people are coming in already.” He pointed out in the corner of the screen.

Baekhyun promptly blushed at the number, “Hi!”

Luhan laughed and pointed at the steady comments rolling in, “Baek, look, they said they like the song. Do you guys like it? My Baekhyun is really good, right? Me and him might collaborate, look out for it.”

That wasn’t discussed, but Baekhyun blushed anyways when Luhan turned the camera back towards him.

“Oh, yes, Luhan and I are good friends,” Baekhyun squinted and tried to read comments but they were coming by so fast.

“Best friends!”

Baekhyun elbowed him before laughing and reading a few more, “Chanye… oh, no, sorry, Chanyeol isn’t home right now or I’d show you guys. I just came on to see what you guys thought of the song… an.. and-“

“Mommy, mommy! Look, he winned!” Jongin cooed, holding up his video.

“He won,” Baekhyun corrected, reaching over to pat Jongin's hair.

“Aish, people want to see that pretty face, stop moving so much,” Luhan teased, adjusting Baekhyun's arm further from his face.

Baekhyun pouted at him for a moment before reading.

_‘Aw! So cute!’_

_‘Their kids are so adorable! I must squish!’_

_‘Baekhyun! Show us the kids!’_

“You want to see them?” He smiled, “Nini, you want to be on camera?” He asked, turning to playfully tug the toddlers shirt.

Jongin sat up with a big beam, squeezing himself into Baekhyun's side, giving a big grin to the phone before ooing, “Fast!” He cried, pointing at the comments.

“So fast because your mommy is so popular,” Luhan teased.

Baekhyun giggled and turned to kiss Jongin's temple, “Tell them how old you are and what you like to do, baby.”

“Um… um… I’m five!”

“You’re not five yet, you’re four.”

Jongin pouted at that, but quickly forgot, “And! And! Like to dance! Like to play toys and like.. to play mommy and daddy! Dats it!”

“That’s it,” Baekhyun snorted, resting his cheek on Jongin's shoulder, “The boys are twins, Kyungsoo is busy watching tv right now so we won’t disturb him.” He explained, glancing at said boy kicking his feet up and watching cartoons.

“Chanyeol's blowing up my phone,” Luhan chuckled, putting his face on the screen, “Chanyeol! I know you’re watching this, no I won’t stop claiming Baekhyun is mine, sucks to suck!”

“Daddy!” Jongin squealed, pressing his face into the screen until Baekhyun pulled him back, “Daddy will be home soon, baby, why don’t you go make him something?” Baekhyun requested because the pressure on his side really was a lot, pointing at the pile of legos in the corner.

Baekhyun grunted and readjusted when the toddler ran off with a screech before blushing and looking at the screen, “I’m pregnant, so it’s a lot to hold the twins right now.”

_‘Omg omg! OMG! Boy or girl! Confirm before the media breaks it for you!’_

He laughed at that, “A little girl, we’re really excited, and we think the boys will be really good brothers to her.”

“Are you going to talk about donations?”

Baekhyun nodded and had completely forgotten, “Oh, yeah. So, I’m not sure if everyone read the description of my song or saw any news articles, but any proceeds that come from it will be donated to a children’s speech communications project, providing funding to teach parents and help fund children with speech delays, impediments, communicative learning disabilities things of that sort.

It was a really personal choice to choose that specific charity, Chanyeol and I searched all day and night to find the perfect one, and we really think it’s important for families to take into account developmental delays, disabilities, and any sort of other… things that may be different about children.”

He sighed slightly and licked his lips before continuing, “Our son, Kyungsoo, has a speech delay, but after a lot of therapy he’s gotten so much better. So, we think it’s really important to try and support children when they’re a little behind, or otherwise different. It can be difficult at first to try and recognize that your child might need extra help that you, as a parent, can’t give, but it’s been worth it. And we think children that need it, but can’t afford it, should be able to get that same help too.”

He nodded to himself a few times before his phone was vibrating and he laughed at Chanyeol's encouraging hearts and cheesy expressions he was blowing him up with.

“Chan,” Baekhyun laughed, “You must really want attention, don’t you get enough?” He asked into the camera, and it felt ridiculous that he knew Chanyeol was watching - along with thousands of people - and he was just messy haired, wearing one of Chanyeol's shirts, just looking grubby but felt completely at ease.

Almost instantly, Chanyeol texted with just a plain, ‘Yes.’

And then his comment on the video popped up as verified, easier to see, _‘Never enough of your attention, baby.’_

Baekhyun giggled, much more red faced than he liked, “Go back to work!”

Luhan laughed into his arm and Baekhyun flushed further because he honestly forgot what he was doing in the first place, scrolling through comments.

_‘Your voice is so nice!’_

_‘If Chanyeol doesn’t marry you, I will!’_

_‘So pretty!’_

There were a few rude ones here and there, comments asking why his face was so round, where Chanyeol was a million times, asking why he was trying to be a singer rudely, but Baekhyun just ignored them, because he knew Chanyeol would tell him to, and he was too excited right now to truly care.

“Oh, thank you, it’s actually… it’s actually a Christmas present I gave to Chanyeol one year, it’s a song I sang for him. So… yeah, it was really special, a good audition song. I’m not sure when I’ll be able to start any other right now, as I’m pretty far along and Chanyeol and I have a lot of things to do, so we’ll see…”

_‘You guys have kids and aren’t married?’_

_‘Chanyeol is an idiot if he doesn’t marry you!’_

“Chanyeol and I are engaged, so thank you, but I’m sorry I’m taken.”

 _‘I’m not sorry!’_ Chanyeol commented and Baekhyun's mouth pulled into a laugh as a few fans whined their displeasure with him.

“Speaking of donations,” Baekhyun started again, grabbing Luhan’s arm in order to pull his legs onto his other side while squeezing his phone, “You guys should comment what charities you advocate for, which ones you believe need more funding, there’s not much I can do right now, so I’ll give them a look and see what I can do or spo-“

“I’ll donate,” Luhan commented, “Whichever ones Baekhyun chooses, I'll give proceeds from my next album.”

Baekhyun looked at him shocked, because he knew Luhan had been working really hard on his album.

But, then again, him and Sehun were pretty famous and made a lot of money, so he really should have expected as much, especially because they were known to donate in the past.

“Domestic abu… oh, yeah, Chanyeol donated to those shelters earlier this week. Those ones will definitely be under our radar, it’s really… it’s really important for people to be provided support in those situations, so, it’s very… it’s a very tough time. And we know that people in situations like that just need someone to tell them that it’s not okay.

I don’t care if it was a one time thing, say your girlfriend pushed you, then proceeded to laugh it off, it’s not funny. It’s not a joke, and we want people to know that it’s not something that should be normalized, it really messes with people, not just physically. Domestic abuse and violence is a real problem, but not as many people speak up about it as they should, I know that now.

It can be really scary, and you just live every moment of your days afraid for when you next see the person. It’s not a one time thing, it’s a real issue, and it’s not your fault.

Sometimes all it takes is a phrase that can bring the victim to realize that what they’re going through isn’t okay, it can be a sudden realization that their partner won’t change.

For me, it would have been one phrase, just a simple phrase that would have meant everything. An, ‘I believe you,’ would have meant the world to me. So, I’m asking that people take this seriously, violence in any form is not okay, but when you’re doing it to someone you’re supposed to love and protect it can ruin a person.

For anyone in that situation, please look at the resources available to you, please speak to your friends and family. I believe you. We believe you.”

***

“I’m really proud of you, baby.”

Baekhyun smiled and tucked his head under Chanyeol's chin, “Me too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IF YOU ARENT ALREADY READING MY DRABBLE SERIES YOURE GOING TO WANT TO!
> 
> IM POSTING A CRIMINAL AU SOON AND A PREQUEL FOR IT ON THERe AND OOMPH ITS SPICY YOURE GONNA WANNA READ IT


	36. Little Girl

Baekhyun was overdue.

His due date had passed, and they could wait up to two more weeks passed the due date, but frankly Baekhyun was just sick and tired of being unable to do anything.

Which spurred on their decision to go to the hospital, along with a few other raising concerns such as Baekhyun feeling fatigued and constantly hungry, probably his anemia acting up more since pregnancy anemia had been one of the main issues their doctor brought up.

In the end, it was time to meet their baby.

“Did you get the diaper bag?” Baekhyun fussed, trying to help Kyungsoo out his toy back together despite not being much help because he was distracted.

“Mommy, baby?” He asked, placing a little hand over Baekhyun's stomach.

“Ah, hell, I knew I forgot something!” Chanyeol cried, running back in from the front door to go upstairs once again.

They had been doing so the past half hour, but neither of them were clear headed and kept forgetting tons of shit.

They were just nervous, Chanyeol more so.

“Yes, baby, we’re going to go get your sister and then come back.” He assured, turning around to grab his phone and check his messages, “Uncle Jun and Min are on the way here to watch you two, so be very good because mommy and daddy won’t be home for a while.”

Probably only a few days max, and that was if Jangmi was too little.

Baekhyun was hoping for one night only because he knew how tough it had been for him and Chanyeol to sleep separately, it didn’t feel nearly as safe, and he wasn’t looking forward to a newborns screeching, but he knew Chanyeol was.

“Mommy going to get the baby popped!”

Baekhyun snorted and looked at Jongin like he was crazy, “Who told you that, weirdo, mommy’s belly isn’t a balloon.”

Jongin only took off in giggles to their toy chest, keeping his secret to himself.

“Gremlin.” Baekhyun laughed, pulling Kyungsoo in to press the four year olds cheek to his stomach in as much of a hug as he could get, “Mimi is going to come home with us and sleep in her crib until she grows big enough to play with her brothers.”

“T-Taemin said baby will cry so much! So, so much, mommy, be loud.” Kyungsoo grumbled, pouting his lips.

In other words, Baekhyun assumed Kyungsoo very much didn’t want to be woken up by the baby crying, but him and Chanyeol had foreseen as much and decided to place the crib inside their room for the time being, just because Baekhyun had already gone through how stressful it was with newborns.

Chanyeol had looked excited every second of his whining, and Baekhyun thought he was insane, and was sure that Chanyeol would be tired after the first week.

“That’s why baby sleeps with mommy and daddy, so she won’t wake you up, Soo. We know how important sleep is for you, little owl.”

Kyungsoo nodded his approval, patting Baekhyun's stomach, “Mimi come out not loud, pease.”

Baekhyun's mouth pulled in amusement before he heard the front door opening again and turned to see Junmyeon and Minseok walking in with a duffle bag of what he assumed to be their own clothes.

God forbid if it was more baby clothes because their friends had already given enough for triplets, even boys clothes.

That was okay though, Jangmi’s room was blue, not the usual pink, because they didn’t feel the need to start gender stereotyping already. She could wear boys onesies too, it’s not like she would know any different.

“Thank god, I’m never getting pregnant again - this is it, my feet hurt so much,” Baekhyun cried, throwing himself into Minseok’s side mostly to take the pressure off his ankle.

“Baby, you’re lying,” Chanyeol pouted as he came back down the stairs, an overfilled diaper bag on his shoulder, “Come on.”

“I’m serious,” Baekhyun replied with a playful frown, “Not coming near you with a ten foot pole!”

Chanyeol smirked, and probably had a lot to say about that had they not had company, he only grabbed Baekhyun's arm and smiled politely at Junmyeon and Minseok, “You guys know where the guest room is, thank you for watching them.”

“Aish,” Junmyeon rolled his eyes and hit Chanyeol's arm, “After this long you still want to be like this? Just bring my niece back, man.”

Chanyeol beamed.

  
***

Baekhyun thought this was the worst part, the waiting.

At least this time it wasn’t alone, and he had Chanyeol seated right beside his head who looked much more nervous about the c section set up than Baekhyun did.

He kept leaning down to kiss Baekhyun's head and was radiating nervousness.

Baekhyun even saw him grimace when they were giving him anesthetic, and he had half a mind to tease him if Chanyeol didn’t look genuinely concerned at every expression Baekhyun did.

He really wasn’t in pain, but the stretching and things the Doctor Shin had him do did feel awkward, and it was more of an uncomfortable expression rather than pain.

Chanyeol was really distracting though, and that was a good thing because Baekhyun remembered how scary it was because they wouldn’t allow Junmyeon in the room with him.

He knew had that happened Chanyeol would have thrown an entire fit, but they had requested Baekhyun's normal doctor for this, and he knew Chanyeol was the father and didn’t ask any questions, only instructing him to wash his hands and place a gown over his clothes for sanitation reasons before giving him a stool to sit on.

“You okay? Okay, baby?”

He’d been asking the past half hour, every few minutes, and nothing changed other than that now the doctors and nurses were actively setting up the sheet to block Baekhyun's stomach from view and discussing the placement of the baby.

They were probably touching his stomach, but Baekhyun's lower body was too numb to know for sure.

“It’s fine, Chanyeol, calm down, my love.” Baekhyun cooed, turning his head to the side to look at him, “Everything is fine, it’s normal. They’re just discussing, you’ll know when she’s here.”

“Worried.”

Baekhyun smiled slightly because Chanyeol looked embarrassed to admit such a thing when he really didn’t need to, it was written all over his face. “I know, handsome, just look at me. Just keep looking at me and think about how pretty she’s going to be. She’s going to be beautiful.”

The way Chanyeol's shoulders relaxed let Baekhyun know he said the right thing because his fiancé was bringing his face to Baekhyun's shoulder and kissing his skin through his gown, “Because of you. Because you gave the kids such good genes.”

Baekhyun grinned, pressing his nose into Chanyeol’s jaw and kissing where he could.

“Okay, sweetie, you ready?”

Baekhyun could barely see around the tarp, but Doctor Shin's voice was clear enough, “Oh, god, please. I’m tired of being off balanced.”

He heard a few nurses laughing and looked up at Chanyeol, but he wasn’t laughing, instead looking wide eyed and scared - Baekhyun had never seen such a look before.

“Don’t pass out,” He cooed, raising a hand to touch Chanyeol's chin, “My love, don’t pass out, please.”

Chanyeol nodded, but it looked stiff as he brought his hand to grab Baekhyun's, resting it on his face and staring at the blue blocking them from seeing what was happening.

This part was admittedly scary because it was mostly just muffled talking and metal hitting metal, terms that Baekhyun couldn't understand for the life of him.

But it would be fine as soon as they got their baby out.

“Hey, look at me,” Baekhyun requested, squeezing Chanyeol's fingers, “I’m not in pain, look at me, it’s okay. I love you and it’s okay, I’m not hurting.”

It was mostly pressure that he felt, but it was scary how scared Chanyeol looked for him, trying to see what was going on, and it was scary when Baekhyun was laid on a table and he knew his baby was out of view, so much could go wrong so Chanyeol felt he needed to be the one alert.

“Okay,” He whispered, kissing Baekhyun's fingers, “Okay, okay.”

Baekhyun could see he was trying to convince himself and smiled as he brought their intertwined hands to rest on his chest, kissing Chanyeol's hand, and it was ironic he was the one being cut open but Chanyeol was the one that looked pained. “Hard work, my love, but it’s not painful, even if it was it's worth it.”

Chanyeol appreciated hard work over a lot of things so Baekhyun wasn’t surprised when he turned his head to stare at Baekhyun instead of looking suspicious of all the nurses and doctors doing their jobs. “You did all the work, baby.”

“I think-“

Baekhyun had never been so happy to be interrupted in his life when a baby’s cry rang out.

He instead smiled and looked at Chanyeol who looked beyond devastated, but he was all pure happiness despite looking tortured and tears pooling in his eyes.

“Here’s your parents, I know, I know, sweet thing.”

Baekhyun laughed wetly as they baby was laid on his chest, her screaming loud in his ears but he only continued crying with a grin and started patting her little back. “Sh, sh, Jangmi. Mommy and daddy are here.”

“Jangmi, Jangmi, hi.” Chanyeol sobbed, reaching over to feel her little finger, “Hey, princess, my little girl.”

Baekhyun pressed a kiss to her head despite her being still covered in blood and skin bright pink, trying to look at her face and body, but didn’t have very long before a nurse was coming over and asking to check her.

“W-What are they doing?”

Baekhyun turned to grab Chanyeol's hand, covering the blood on his chest with his gown because he wasn’t completely sure Chanyeol was out of the shock zone yet, “They’re just making sure she’s healthy and cleaning her, then we’ll get her back, honey.”

  
***

“My pretty baby, that's right, daddy loves you so much, pumpkin.”

Baekhyun thought Chanyeol was really adorable, because Jangmi was already asleep, but the man continued to pet her fingers and roll her hospital crib back and forth soothingly.

He was really happy Chanyeol was here, because he felt it was a much better experience now than when it was him and Junmyeon - not that he didn’t love his brother to the fullest or appreciate him being there, but Chanyeol was his lover, father of his children, he just felt so full.

Well, he also just didn’t feel much of anything with all the painkillers he was on but that was also okay because Chanyeol was here to take care of him too.

Baekhyun reached over to his side table tiredly, trying to grab a pack of crackers off but it fell to the floor with a quiet crinkling sound and he laughed, smiling when Chanyeol turned around to get it, taking a seat at the bedside.

“You should sleep more, baby.” Chanyeol scolded softly, opening the package to give over, “I don’t know that I’ll join you tonight, I don’t want to accidentally irritate your stitches or something.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Baekhyun huffed, droopy eyes on his crackers, “That's why they give us a family room, you’re sleeping with me or I’m not sleeping at all.”

It was a huge lie because all the painkillers he was on just made him all that more tired, but he just pouted at Chanyeol anyways.

“You drive a hard bargain,” Chanyeol sighed, pulling the gown onto Baekhyun's shoulder and then resting his palm on his cheek, “She’s beautiful. Of course she is, and so healthy, you did so well. I’m so proud of you, Baekhyun, really.”

She was healthy, much more healthy than the twins were, but that was also common in twin pregnancies, along with one of them being much bigger than the other - just like Jongin was.

It was funny that even after looking near fainting, Chanyeol wasn’t scared at all to hold her, wanted to hold her and coddle her a lot already.

Jangmi was only about the side of Chanyeol's hands anyways, an average size, but she somehow looked so small with a decent head of curls and almond shaped eyes.

Baekhyun used to always think every newborn looked the same - until he saw his own.

“You’ve really given me so much, Baekhyun, I don’t think you really understand how much you all mean to me sometimes. Because when I say the world, that’s not enough.”

“Ah, if you continue being so cheesy, you should just write my next song for me,” Baekhyun teased.

Chanyeol chuckled, but Baekhyun knew he was really choked up with his shaking hands and glassy eyes.

“I love you, so come lay down,” The smaller added, raising a brow in a dare for Chanyeol to disagree.

“Ja-“

“Jangmi is a baby and just had so much milk, Chanyeol. I, on the other hand, can’t sleep without you by my side, so get your ass in this bed or I swear I won't touch you ever again.”

“Let’s not forget which one of us is the horny one, baby.”


	37. Mimi & Me

“Oh! Achoo!” Chanyeol cooed down at the car seat when Jangmi sneezed, startling herself out of sleep, “Ah, mommy is taking so long, let’s help him.”

Baekhyun pouted at him for his teasing, but still accepted his arm, “Mommy only gave birth days ago, so I think he’s allowed to be a little slow.”

Unfortunately, they did end up staying for three nights, only because the doctor said that scar tissue is more sensitive to close up, and wanted to ensure Baekhyun's stitches were healing before releasing him.

“No, no, Mimi no crying, sh.”

Jangmi instantly started crying from her own sneeze and Baekhyun turned to reach into her car seat before Chanyeol could even attempt to, because the man was high strung about Baekhyun lifting anything when the doctor specifically said nothing bigger than Jangmi - and Jangmi wasn’t bigger than herself.

“You want to meet your brothers, my love?” Baekhyun cooed, a palm beneath her head and another under her bottom, cupping her to his chest and watching Chanyeol pull the car seat over his arm to unlock the door. “Daddy is so strong, don’t you think? Mommy will make daddy carry everything.”

Chanyeol snorted, pulling his key out before turning to kiss Baekhyun's temple, “Daddy will make sure to be really strong to carry mommy around.”

Baekhyun beamed, pressing his lips to Chanyeol's before using his foot to push the door the rest of the way.

Jangmi’s whimpering cries instantly started echoing and Baekhyun's first thing on his to do list now that they were home was to get more furniture to muffle the echoing.

“Mommy!”

Kyungsoo's wide eyes popped over the back of the couch and within seconds Jongin was skidding down the stairs in an iron man outfit.

“Baby!”

“Sh, baby,” Chanyeol crooned, setting the car seat and diaper bag by the door, “Baby is sensitive, we have to keep our voices down or she’s going to cry.”

“Give me my niece!” Minseok yelled as he started around Jongin down the stairs, ruining every point Chanyeol was just trying to explain.

Baekhyun pouted at him, but only patted Jangmi’s bottom and passed her over. “Jun! You going to come see her?” He called, laying a hand on her stomach and rubbing to try and calm her down.

“Come here, little monsters!” He heard Chanyeol to his right, and wasn’t surprised at all when he was scooping Jongin and Kyungsoo up at once and standing back up.

Baekhyun chewed his lip at the show of strength and Chanyeol winked when they met eyes, ruining the appeal for Baekhyun who rolled his eyes.

“Miss you an mommy!” Kyungsoo cried, wrapping arms right around Chanyeol's neck.

“We missed you guys too, phone calls aren’t good enough, huh, baby? But don’t worry, daddy is going to be home for a while to help with Mimi. You want to see her?”

They really did miss the twins, it was really hard to try and find time to speak to them and hard to use their phones at all because cell phones weren’t allowed inside hospitals, so they usually took a short walk down to the garden area because Baekhyun needed to walk around anyways.

“Oh, she’s so pretty. Hi, sweetheart.” Junmyeon whispered, walking out of the kitchen to look over Minseok's shoulder, “Sh, why are you crying, baby?”

Baekhyun laughed under his breath at that, stealing her from Minseok’s arms to bounce her the smallest bit and she instantly started soothing with a few whimpers and sniffs.

“Loves mommy?” Jongin asked, pointing at the baby.

“Everyone loves mommy,” Chanyeol cooed instantly.

Baekhyun laughed and turned to walk over to them, still vaguely impressed but not surprised Chanyeol looked like he wasn’t tired at all despite the both of them getting little sleep and him having to be Baekhyun's personal assistant.

“This is Jangmi, and we have to be very careful with her, okay? She’s really tiny and very weak, so you don’t play with her unless mommy and daddy are watching.” He explained softly, cradling her and rubbing his thumb over her hair softly.

“Daddy said pro… protec! Daddy said baby is really small, so my job is to watch Mimi.” Jongin explained, flipping his hand back and forth.

“Daddy is always right.” Baekhyun cooed, glancing up at Chanyeol before frowning at his teary eyes, “Chan. It’s okay.”

“I know.” The man drawled wetly, laughing and shaking his head, “I know, that’s why I’m crying.”

“Mimi an me play toys now, kay?” Kyungsoo chirped, wiggling for Chanyeol to put him down and once he did, he walked over to grab Baekhyun's pajama pant leg, “Down mommy, I can hold.”

The toddler placed his palms out and Baekhyun heard everyone start laughing but Kyungsoo was very serious and just continued staring at him impatiently.

“Soo, baby is tired. She’s little and can’t play so soon.” Minseok laughed, coming over to pet Kyungsoo’s hair, “Mimi just got home from the hospital, she’s tired.”

“Baby is sick?” Jongin cried, looking urgently up at Baekhyun, “Mimi is scared of doctor.” He added matter of factly, nodding his head.

“Sure, Jangmi is scared of doctors.” Chanyeol shrugged with a chuckle, “So mommy is going to take her to bed while daddy makes lunc-“

“We made lunch, go ahead, we can stay a few days longer to help.” Junmyeon cut in with a shrug, “Go, you both need to bond with her for a while.”

Baekhyun giggled and turned to fix Chanyeol with a smile, “You can’t escape.”

Chanyeol instantly burst into laughter, pressing a kiss to Baekhyun's cheek and running his finger over Jangmi’s covered toes, “Good thing I’m definitely not trying to, i'll go set up her crib.”

Baekhyun felt his eyes well up when Chanyeol started walking up the stairs, but they were happy tears, very fond ones.

Because he never imagined a life like this, let alone another child.

At first, he did have doubts about the pregnancy, he was scared and worried because he didn’t really want another baby.

But, with time came realizations, trust, and loyalty, and that said a lot about Chanyeol as a person.

Baekhyun just always loved Chanyeol, even when he didn’t think he did. So, of course he loved Jangmi twice as much, because even if it had been accidental, there were no mistakes made, she was out of pure love.

“You guys really don’t need to stay, we can handle it,” He mumbled, grabbing Minseok’s arm for support as he got down on his knees. “Boys, you want to see? You can touch, but really gently. Be easy.”

“Like we’d miss an opportunity to live in a mansion.” Minseok scoffed.

Baekhyun laughed, shaking his head as he watched Jongin touch her onesie covered leg, “You guys are always welcome, we have more space than we need.”

“You have space that will be quickly filled.”

Baekhyun pouted up at Junmyeon for a second at that, but had nothing to say.

“Mommy, baby.. soft.” Kyungsoo awed, pressing his finger into Jangmi’s who stared at them with bobbing eyes and an open mouth.

Seeing them this close just let Baekhyun know how much the boys had grown, because at one point both of them were smaller than this; Baekhyun had taken both of them into his apartment crying because he loved them so much and they deserved more than they would have.

Still, he couldn’t regret a thing when things turned out amazing for the boys.

“Give mommy a kiss,” He requested.

Sometimes, Baekhyun wondered what would have happened if, at one point, he had broken up with Chanyeol.

If, like he had thought about many times, he decided to spare the man his baggage and continuously reject him.

Now he knew it wasn’t possible because Chanyeol would have continued to annoy the shit out of him for his attention, and the man would have dumped a million gifts at his feet until Baekhyun had to accept.

But, it was something he thought about, what if this hadn’t happened? What if Chanyeol hadn’t been interested in him from the start?

Baekhyun wouldn’t have made it this far in life, that was for sure. But Chanyeol never made him feel like he owed him a thing even though Baekhyun knew he owed him more than everything.

“Mimi kisses too?” Jongin asked with a wide eyed pout he usually did for sweets, not to kiss his baby sister.

“You can give her a kiss on her hand, but not her face, okay? Mimi is very sensitive.” Baekhyun agreed.

“You’ve done really well for yourself,” Junmyeon praised, Baekhyun looked up to where his brother was leaning against the back of the couch, not hovering beside him like Minseok because he knew the man was a worrying machine. “I’m really proud of you, Baekhyun. Really, Chanyeol is good for you, and even if I didn’t approve at first, you proved me wrong, and I’m really happy and proud.”

“I… I really love him, I told you that.” Baekhyun sniffed, raising an arm up to Minseok for help getting up, holding Jangmi close to his chest carefully, but after raising twins, one handed baby holding was a breeze.

“If only that dumbass had stood in line to demand for you sooner.” Minseok tsked.

  
***

“Jangmi, I know, you hate stinky diapers and we do too!” Baekhyun cooed, changing the baby at the end of their bed.

“I don’t mind.”

“You don’t mind because you haven’t changed two lifetimes worth already,” Baekhyun replied in a baby voice all while looking down at Jangmi who was absolutely pissed at being changed, soothing faster when Baekhyun picked her in only her diaper up to rub her back.

Chanyeol laughed, shutting off the bathroom light and pulling the blankets back from their bed, watching Baekhyun walk back and forth to soothe Jangmi. “My turn?”

Baekhyun shook his head before smiling and stopping his pacing to look at him, “Take your shirt off and lay down.” He ordered.

The other raised a brow, smirking, “Geez, babe, if you wanted me naked just say so.”

His fiancé scrunched his nose off in a laugh, but waited patiently for Chanyeol to follow through, “We can bring that back up in a few weeks, but, now..” Baekhyun walked over to lay Jangmi down on his chest with a few shushing noises, “Bonding for you needs to be more often, just let her look at you for a while.”

Chanyeol grinned at him before leaning down to kiss Jangmi’s head, “You're going to be a daddy's girl, I’m going to make sure of it, huh?” He cooed, placing a large finger under her palm.

“Jangmi can recognize me by my voice and smell already, so… I mean.” Baekhyun shrugged with a cocky grin before climbing into the bed and snuggling into Chanyeol’s side, placing his chin on his fiancés shoulder, “I win, Chan.”

Chanyeol just smiled at him, large palm covering Jangmi’s back and patting while he turned to kiss Baekhyun's nose, “I think I won.”

Baekhyun smiled dreamily and kissed Chanyeol's jaw before settling in the crook of his neck and reaching over to wipe a bead of milk from Jangmi’s chin, the baby just continued staring and scrunching her face like she was ready to cry, but didn’t, just curled her toes and fingers experimentally on Chanyeol's chest.

“She smells good.”

“I know, she smells like new baby,” Baekhyun hummed.

“I wish I could have done this for the twins too.”

Baekhyun sighed, kissing at Chanyeol's shoulder before looking up at him, “As far as I’m concerned, you did and that’s all everyone needs to know, my love.”

“I..” Chanyeol licked his lips, “Just wish I did, Baek. Wish I could have done more when they were little.”

“They’re nearly five, that's three years you’ve been their dad, Chanyeol, more than I had alone with them, and it’s going to be so much longer. You’ll have a long time to raise babies, we will have a long time to raise them. Don’t regret a thing, handsome.”

“More babies you say?” Chanyeol asked, voice teasing.

Baekhyun giggled and bit Chanyeol's shoulder playfully, “Don't get ahead of yourself, hot stuff, Jangmi isn’t even a week old.”

“But yes, right?”

Baekhyun rolled his eyes and started feeling Jangmi’s toes to avoid Chanyeol's playful smirk, “Doctor gave me birth control to start on when I’m done with my painkillers, let’s give them a gap, babe.”

“Just admit it,” Chanyeol cooed, “You completely want to have more kids with me.”

“Maybe I just want to have sex with you.” Baekhyun teased, because they both knew the answer.

“That can also be arranged sometime soon, beautiful.”


	38. Extra: Welcome Home

“Ba ba ba ba!” 

Baekhyun grinned and pushed open the bedroom door more, “Are you talking to mommy?” 

In response, Jangmi screeched, kicking her legs up when Baekhyun peered into the crib.

“I know, mommy’s social butterfly.” Baekhyun cooed, reaching over the crib to pick her up.

Jangmi instantly babbled happier noises into his shirt, sitting back to give a drooly squeal and kick her legs.

Baekhyun laughed and grabbed a spare diaper off the changing table on his way out, just in case, despite the fact he knew the house had them hidden everywhere at this point.

So many that he caught the twins playing in them not they long ago and pretended not to see a thing - even if he snatched a picture to put on Instagram.

Now, Jangmi was already four months old and Baekhyun was so sad because he felt like not long ago he and Chanyeol got woken up every hour to the crying baby.

She didn’t cry very much anymore though, in fact, she was a very happy baby, and was full of giggles and smiles.

Along with her developments, Baekhyun really thought she looked like Chanyeol. A full head of wild curls, a big, winning smile, even down to a small dimple forming on her cheek.

Chanyeol argued she looked more like Baekhyun with her droopy eyes and button nose, but Baekhyun thought he was just overlooking the obvious Chanyeol-likeness about her.

She was really cute. A very pretty baby.

They both were also biased, and their friends and family were too, but both Chanyeol and Baekhyun's fans blew their socials up for more photos of the kids, that felt really nice too.

On a sad note, Chanyeol started to go to his office more since Jangmi wasn’t really that big of a hassle anymore, and the twins had started kindergarten so Baekhyun was usually alone.

He really didn’t mind, it was just so different, but when Jangmi napped or was busy playing he usually just focused on trying to memorize lyrics his manager was sending or promoting on social media.

It sounded like such an easy job, but it wasn’t at all.

He got a lot of hate too, not as much as say Chanyeol did or someone who had been in the industry much longer, but a decent amount.

Right after giving birth to Jangmi he had become addicted to reading people’s responses and comments, and he was much more sensitive then.

Chanyeol had found him crying a number of times because of it, and it wasn’t even the comments about his appearance or anything of sorts that had him so upset, but the ones that really hit harder.

Like that Baekhyun didn’t deserve Chanyeol or his child. That he used Chanyeol for money, that he somehow was only seducing him and didn’t really love him.

Baekhyun just thought he was pretty clear how much they loved each other, even in the public’s eye, especially since anything posted was instantly liked and commented on with something disgustingly cheesy - but they were just like that with each other, disgustingly soft.

It was easier now that he had a handle on things, because it really didn’t matter if they believed he and Chanyeol loved each other, because they did.

Jangmi was enough proof of that, Kyungsoo and Jongin were enough proof of their love for eachother, because they too were Chanyeol's and that’s as far as anyone knew. Because that was the truth.

“Ha! Hagaha!” 

Baekhyun snickered and put her in her baby bouncer, watching her instantly become distracted with the lion shapes dangling in front of her face.

She was at that age it was just non stop gurgling and babbling and Chanyeol was obsessed with any noise she made, even if it was an angry noise when she wasn’t getting attention.

Chanyeol was just on her all the time, but Baekhyun always knew he would be a great father because he never forgot about the twins, always making sure to see if their homework was done or checking out their new drawings; it was entirely unfair how good of a parent he was when Baekhyun would voluntarily admit after a few hours of playing he was played out and just wanted a nap.

“I know, baby, you miss Soo and Nini, huh?” He crooned, kneeling down and removing her socks since it seemed they were mostly half off anyway, “And daddy. Me too, it’s not as much fun with just mommy, hm? Just a few minutes and they should be back.” 

Jangmi, of course, was not interested in his cooing and much more interested in yanking the animal shapes on the arch over her head with all the strength in her entire body.

Which was  _ a lot  _ for such a tiny thing.

Truthfully, Baekhyun was worried for Jongin's health because the child found it funny these days to let Jangmi pull his hair since he was growing it out and Baekhyun knew that  _ had  _ to hurt but Jongin never flinched because he was a little weirdo.

“Fine. Ignore mommy then,” Baekhyun pouted, squeezing the chubbiness of his leg before standing up.

Jangmi was more than happy to play with herself so long as Chanyeol or her brothers weren’t here and Baekhyun was irrationally jealous.

Chanyeol wasn’t kidding when he said she was a daddy’s girl and it made Baekhyun extremely jealous at first, right after birth it was more of all his hormones kicking his depression back at him, but he just accepted it now, that Jangmi liked the deep drawl of Chanyeol's voice more.

Baekhyun couldn't argue that, because the ring on his finger was likely there  _ because  _ he too liked the deep voice.

It made him easier to hear coming too, because right now Baekhyun heard they jangling of keys and muffled talking, but Jangmi was too busy squealing in her own world to hear them over the soft music that came from her bouncer.

“Mommy!”

“Hi, baby!” Baekhyun cooed, bending down to accept a hug, “Did you have a good day at school, Soo?”

“Mimi!” Jongin cried and threw his backpack onto the floor and Baekhyun internally rolled his eyes because he hadn’t even gotten acknowledged by the other yet.

“I- look!” Kyungsoo cried, smacking a paper into Baekhyun’s back.

Baekhyun snorted and grabbed it. “Ah! Good boy! My smart boy! Mommy and daddy will be there, I’m so happy! You’re going to do so well, Soo. A spelling bee, ah, I’m so proud!”

“Me too,” 

“Go-gonna go call uncles!” The boy yelled, bouncing on his feet and running into the kitchen.

Baekhyun laughed, but knew Kyungsoo always found his phone no matter where he tried to hide it, standing up to place the spelling bee invitation onto the counter before finally,  _ finally  _ seeing his fiancé leaning against the front door with a smirk and crossed arms.

“Well?” Chanyeol said and it made Baekhyun torn between wanting to scoff at his cockiness and jump at him.

He settled on the second one and was sighing into the man's chest within an instant, but even faster was Chanyeol lifting his chin to peck his lips multiple times. 

A baby’s yell came from across the room, a tell all sound that Jangmi had connected the dots because if  _ brothers _ were home then  _ daddy _ was home! 

Chanyeol laughed into his mouth and Baekhyun pouted, “Mimi! Daddy is loving mommy right now, you’ll have to wait!” The elder yelled.

“Yeah! Mommy’s turn!” Baekhyun whined, kissing Chanyeol's jaw for attention.

Jangmi yelled back with a disagreeing squeal,  _ daddy see me first!  _

It caused Baekhyun to smile and kiss Chanyeol's mouth twice as hard, “You go see her, she’s been waiting all day.” 

“Mommy has been waiting all day too,” Chanyeol argued softly even though Baekhyun could tell he very much wanted to go see their baby. 

Grinning, Baekhyun took his tongue between his teeth for a second and pressed a kiss beneath Chanyeol's ear, “Mommy also has a phone and has been able to talk to daddy all day, plus, we share a bed, I’ll get time with you. Always do, babe.”

“Are you  _ insinuating!” _ Chanyeol cried playfully, “Wow! And you tell me  _ not in front of the kids?  _ Baek, this is a new low, tsk..” 

Baekhyun burst with laughter and smacked his chest, “God! Just go see her before it’s an all out war in here!”


	39. Extra: Jongin Time

“Daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy!” 

Chanyeol woke up with a groan, sighing as he had a lap full of someone he wished was still _much_ much smaller than he really was.

“Jongin, baby. Good morning - where’s your mom?”

Jongin giggled and beamed as he realized the other was awake, sliding off of his stomach and onto the mattress to flop onto his stomach and hold his chin up with his palm. “Took Jangmi for shots.” 

The boy's hair was falling over his eyes so much Chanyeol wondered if he could even _see,_ but of course he always denied needing a haircut.

Chanyeol hummed and rubbed his eyes for a second before rolling over to snuggle him to his chest, “Yeah? Is Kyungsoo here still?” 

“He’s _busy,”_ Jongin grumbled, scrunching his nose up with disgust, “Doing _words - ew.”_

“Ew.” Chanyeol snorted, kissing his cheek and deciding to sit up, “Why’d you wake daddy up, gremlin? You need something?” 

“Want to play?”

Chanyeol grinned ear to ear despite being exhausted with Jangmi having been congested and screaming all night.

Still, the boys were getting so big he felt neither of them really wanted to play anymore and it was becoming hard to give them individual time.

Truthfully, he and Baekhyun were aware Jongin didn’t get much individual time at all compared to Jangmi or Kyungsoo.

Jangmi was only a baby and required so much of their time throughout the day, and Kyungsoo had a lot of their time practicing words and just talking in general to make sure he stayed on track.

Jongin always brushed it off when they brought it up, _“it’s ‘Kay, Mimi is little and Soo needs to talk good.”_

But it didn’t make them feel any better even though Jongin was a good boy and had so many friends and played well on his own terms.

“Hey. Why don’t we do something fun, baby?” 

Jongin bounced up from the bed with a confused noise, watching Chanyeol grab clothes from his dresser, “Like what, daddy?”

“Mhmm, do you want to go to a movie? Daddy has some time and wants to see you for a little.” 

“Um, Soo doesn’t like movies.” 

Chanyeol sighed at the reminder, and at Jongin being so sweet.

Sometimes he just wished the twins were more selfish than they really _were._ It was really difficult to get them to really verbally say they wanted anything at all, normally they had to just watch the twins expressions and figure out if they liked something.

That’s legitimately how Chanyeol figured Kyungsoo wanted a new Star Wars bed set - the excited grin he had for only a split second before looking the other way.

It was hard to deal with, and it just made Baekhyun breakdown when they tried to talk about it because he felt so guilty.

“How about when mommy gets home we can go, just Jongin and me? What do you think, son?” Chanyeol asked, turning around as he changed his pajama top to watch his expression.

He swore with Jongin things were even harder, he didn’t really try to hide expressions because they weren’t really ones that exploded for a second like Kyungsoo's. 

He just sort of pressed his lips together and fiddled with his monkey patterned socks. 

But Chanyeol saw his head tilt in thought and found it answer enough.

“But what about Soo and Mimi?” 

“What _about_ Soo and Mimi?”

Jongin pressed a little hand to his cheek with a soft thoughtful expression, “What if they don’t want us to go?” 

“Oh, my sweet boy,” Chanyeol whispered under his breath, taking a seat on the corner of the bed and grabbing Jongin's hand, “Sometimes daddy just wants to spend time with just you. Sometimes mommy and daddy want to do something special with one of you and that doesn’t mean that we love any of you less; it just means that we want to spend time with you because we love you very much and don’t spend as much time with you as we should. 

We know you say you don’t mind, Jongin. But you’re a smart boy and you know that if you _did_ that mommy and daddy would be really happy to just have an _only_ Jongin day, okay? Do you understand what I mean?” 

“Like… like… sometimes mommy and daddy have mommy daddy day?” 

_“Yes,”_ Chanyeol smiled and pressed a kiss to his palm, “Just like mommy and daddy sometimes go out, because we love each other but don’t get to see each other alone a lot, and that’s _okay._ That’s okay because we still love each other and love all of you a million times.” 

Jongin scrunched his nose up, using the flat of his hand to push his hair out of his face to reveal his thinking expression and tiny features. “Can… can we do mommy, daddy, Nini day?” 

Chanyeol felt a bit upset given that it suggested Jongin _did_ feel a bit left out, even though he knew the other likely was only just understanding what he was getting at. 

“Of course, munchkin. Of course. We can always find time to see you, Jonginnie.” He crooned, petting his hair behind his ear, “Uncles can come watch Soo and Mimi and they’ll have lots of fun while we’re gone too, they won’t be left out.” 

“Yeah! Uncle Hunnie made bubbles last time!” 

Chanyeol laughed and wanted to roll his eyes given how goddamn _sticky_ the doorknobs were after that, but could only nod and pull him into a hug.

“Daddy will call right now and make sure Uncles are prepared to be extra fun for your brother and sister, sound fair? They can have fun here and mommy, daddy, and Nini can go to the movies and have fun too.” 

“Fair!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was this extra worth it? Bb Nini is so big now!


	40. Extra: You Monster

Honestly, even the twins were less work than Jangmi was.

For some reason the baby took after Chanyeol big time, something about his overexcitement for _everything_ ran through the baby’s veins and Baekhyun was just about ready to lose his mind.

In fact, he was pretty certain after this he would.

“See!” Kyungsoo squeaked, yanking on the side of Baekhyun’s sweatpants, “I told you! I told you, mommy! They painted the floor!”

Baekhyun could do nothing but _groan._

First of all, it would be one thing if this were _just_ a one year olds doing - but no, of course not - the baby could barely pull up against the couch, there was no way she could do this heself.

Secondly, Chanyeol was caught red - or in this case _blue -_ handed.

“Park Chanyeol!” Baekhyun cried, grabbing his hair as he looked at the mess all over the floor. “You monster!”

The kitchen floor was flooded in paints, likely due to the one year old crawling and screaming as she made colors on the marble, but it certainly had to do with his giant _toddler_ of a husband seated on the kitchen floor with paint all over his hands and face.

Really, it was comical to see Chanyeol try to get his long legs comfortable in one spot, but Baekhyun didn’t know what to think.

Chanyeol cleared his throat, eyes wide and shaking as he put his hands up in an _I surrender_ stance, “Uh… uh- happy birthday?”

“Happy birthday, mommy! Happy happy birthday!” Jongin screamed and suddenly Baekhyun had the boy throwing himself at his spine.

Jongin was _way_ too big to be clinging to him like this these days, but Baekhyun caught himself on the island and _again_ was blaming Chanyeol for the reason the twins kept being so rough with him.

You would _think_ by now Chanyeol would give up trying to pick them up, but Baekhyun was just waiting for the day the twins either decided to be big boys and hate to be coddled, or for his husband to hurt himself.

Baekhyun _really_ couldn’t be mad when Jongin was holding a handful of wrapped flowers in both hands, smiling all wide and gummily, “Daddy said to make you something _pretty!_ Pretty like mommy!”

What a force fed line, Baekhyun snickered, unable to stop himself from sighing fondly and accepting the flowers.

He heard Chanyeol make a satisfied noise and pointed a finger across the room at him, “Don’t think you’re not in trouble.” 

His husband deflated with a pout, “Come on, baby! Lighten up!” 

Baekhyun was always putty for the nickname, but he wasn’t the only one because Jangmi started laughing loud, grabbing the child locked cabinet to pull up on.

He saw it coming as soon as she was up on two feet only, but so did Kyungsoo apparently because he was more than used to her falling as he grabbed her tiny belly to pick her up.

It was adorable when the twins carried her, given they weren't really that big or strong, even if Baekhyun had been afraid at first they’d drop her they never did at all - they really saved her from bonking her head a lot. 

“Ew! Ew! She’s dirty!” The boy cried as painted hands grabbed him.

“Soosoo!” Jangmi roared on the top of her lungs, grabbing Kyungsoo in a tight grip and smearing her mess on him.

Baekhyun could only fix Chanyeol with a judgemental look for what he’d caused.

“Okay,” Chanyeol huffed, groaning as he stood up from the ground. “Just hold up - take her to the bathroom please, Soo.”

Baekhyun snorted at the noise, “You’re getting old, babe,” He teased.

“Still young enough to throw you-“

“Lalala! I’m not listening!” Baekhyun yelled, ears bright red as he turned to turn the tap on for his husband.

He didn’t need any more messes so the less he touched the _better._

“Mommy.” 

Baekhyun hummed, scratching Jongin's hair as he walked over to the paper towel holder, “Yes, baby.” 

“I wrote you something, daddy said happy birthday was too boring!” 

Of course he did, Baekhyun rolled his eyes with a snort, kneeling down to press a kiss to Jongin's hair, “Go clean up and then I’ll come see. Thank you, Nini, I’m sure it’s very beautiful.” 

Jongin mumbled excitedly that it _was_ beautiful and Baekhyun snorted because he was positive their sons head was growing too many sizes because Chanyeol could barely even stand to correct them let alone criticize anything. 

“You’re such a child,” Baekhyun laughed fondly as he turned to begin wiping Chanyeol’s face, the man was all pouty now, holding a piece of construction paper by the edges seeing as his hands were now clean. 

“This _was_ supposed to look like your album cover before Mimi stomped on it.” Chanyeol whined, huffing.

“She’s so your child. Your kid - your turn to clean,” Baekhyun snickered, pressing a kiss on Chanyeol’s hair and crowding the seat he was in to look over his shoulder.

It really looked like at one point it could have been good, he didn’t doubt it was because Chanyeol was a perfectionist, but instead it had imprints of chubby feet on it. 

It would still likely earn a frame and a spot on one of the walls.

“You _know_ I don’t mind that,” Chanyeol replied, setting the picture down before turning to hug his stomach, looking up at him.

“I know, but I’m still wondering when you’re going to get tired of messes! Come on, babe, she can be a princess and _still_ follow some rules.” Baekhyun teased, running a paper towel over his husband's brow to gently scrub at the paint. 

Chanyeol grumbled at that, “But she's a baby.” 

“She’s going to turn out like _you_ if you don’t start telling her no - just because she gives you doe eyes and says _dada_ doesn’t mean to say yes. For _my_ sake say no, Jongin is already just like you and I cannot handle _three_ Park Chanyeol's!” Baekhyun whined, voice filled with playful exasperation.

“Hey, I take offense to that, I’m pretty awesome.” 

Baekhyun laughed, nose scrunched up as he was pulled down onto Chanyeol’s thigh, “You _would,_ your ego is the size of the house.” 

“You love me.” 

“God, isn’t that _unfortunate.”_

Baekhyun just giggled loud when Chanyeol pinched his side in retaliation a few times, struggling not to squirm at the ticklishness in order to throw arms around his husband's neck. “Okay! Okay, honey, I give!” 

“That’s _right, I win!”_

“Competitive little shit,” Baekhyun mumbled against his mouth, laughing before pressing an actual kiss to his lips. “Go give Jangmi a bath before I decide no more little Chanyeol’s from now on.” 

He was only kidding, they’d been discussing it very often lately, a few more years was still best seeing as both of the _little Chanyeol’s_ they had currently were handfuls.

Okay, Jongin wasn’t _too_ bad, but he followed his dad around like a shadow and Baekhyun was pretty sure he was beginning to get a little _too_ spoiled.

“Well, that’s fine then, because I could handle a million little Baekhyun’s,” Chanyeol claimed, petting over Baekhyun’s hip.

The smaller knew what he was trying to do the second his fingertips made it under his shirt to touch his stretch marks. 

“Yeah, well, not like we exactly get to choose which one we get,” Baekhyun teased, pressing a gentle kiss to Chanyeol’s brow bone, “And of _course_ you could, both me and Soo are _angels.”_

A brave claim considering Kyungsoo shot Jongin in the face with a sprinkler just two days before, and he knew the amused look on Chanyeol’s face threatened to call that out.

“Kyungsoo tripped Jongin in the wood chips at school only a month ago.” 

_Damn,_ Baekhyun forgot about that one.

He pouted and nuzzled into Chanyeol’s jaw needily, “That's okay because I’m an angel and it makes up for Soo being a bully.” 

His husband laughed and kissed his forehead, but didn’t refute that at all. Chanyeol just grinned widely and ran fingers around the shell of his ear, “Happy birthday, my love.” 

“Wow, thank you for the messy kitchen, babe.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 👉🏻👈🏻 Thank you guys for loving this so much


	41. Extra: A Day With Dad

“No! Jongin! I said  _ no!”  _

The child didn’t listen, screaming as he ran off to the swings.

Kyungsoo bounced on his feet beside Chanyeol, looking up at him with a small begging look, “Daddy?”

Chanyeol sighed, grabbing the bridge of his nose before nodding, “Fine, just for a little. We still have stuff to do.” 

Not that a child really gave any care about the list of things Chanyeol had to do.

The man was  _ fucked,  _ he wondered how the hell Baekhyun did it all the time, did all this stuff for the kids, got groceries, and  _ still  _ managed to have dinner thrown together without a single stray hair out of place.

It’s been only one hour since Chanyeol packed up the kids to get them to leave Baekhyun alone, his poor husband that was sick in bed with a cold and whom kept getting woken up by Jangmi pushing on the bedroom door with a whiny,  _ “Mama!”  _

It was strange how much children noticed when their routine was out of order or off track and Baekhyun not getting up to see Chanyeol off to work was a sign that made the man not go in instantly.

“Woahhh!!”

Chanyeol snorted at the high pitched yell, it wasn't like Jangmi had any idea what they were doing, but she still liked to see her brothers run around.

He took a seat on the park bench, spinning the stroller to face her with an exasperated huff, “What is daddy going to  _ do,  _ Mimi?” 

Chanyeol had  _ certainly  _ overestimated and overpromised to Baekhyun what he’d get done, he’d just grabbed the list of things to do off the fridge without a thought, promising he’d let him rest with a kiss to the corner of his bloodshot eyes.

“Dada, woah!” The baby squealed, fingers in her mouth and swinging a stuffed cat doll around by its tail in her other hand, “Woah! Woah!”

“I  _ know right,”  _ Chanyeol grumbled, reaching over to pat her stomach over the seatbelt, “Daddy is in  _ so  _ much trouble. What does mommy do if Nini doesn’t listen in the car? Do you know?” 

If Jangmi knew or not all he got was a gummy laugh and the baby girl throwing her toy outside the stroller on his foot. 

Chanyeol felt like it was a sign that he was absolutely fucked; maybe he was trying to impress Baekhyun, it was true the other spent much more time watching the kids than him, but he reasoned it was a natural response given it was his  _ husband  _ and Baekhyun impressed him all the fucking time.

“You’re very little help, princess,” Chanyeol accused, tucking her toy under the belt so she wouldn’t toss it again, leaning over to kiss his hair.

Jangmi just cooed and made a high pitched, excited noise, wiping slobbery hands into his cheek and kicking her legs.

Chanyeol laughed and kissed her face once more before sighing and grabbing her hands to do a few little dancing motions, “My babygirl - you’re so sweet, huh? You got that from your mommy,  _ that’s  _ for sure. Daddy is  _ not  _ very nice.” 

Jangmi got a lot from Baekhyun really, even if the other adamantly denied it and pointed out her huge eyes and cute wide grin, claiming they were exact replicas of Chanyeol’s as she was growing older.

He argued otherwise seeing as Jangmi could scrunch her eyes into little crescents and beam boxily like Baekhyun, she even had the same little point to the outside of her ears.

It was a disagreement that they were happy to argue about.

_ “Are you Park Chanyeol!” _

Chanyeol at first frowned, it’d been a while since he’d been out in general, so he hadn’t had to deal with fans in a while.

He laid his chin on his fist and sighed as he tilted his head up to look at the woman, “Sorry. I’m with my kids right now, I’m not in the mood for fan service.” He grumbled irritably. 

She scrunched her face up in irritation, “Wasn't a fan of  _ you  _ anyway. Baekhyun is much more approachable,” and Chanyeol was mostly happy she didn’t dare to do much else but huff and move to a table  _ right  _ beside his. 

He just snorted because he thought it was funny when people pretended to know Baekhyun based on only a few songs and photographs they’d fallen in love with.

Chanyeol couldn't blame them really, Baekhyun was  _ amazing,  _ it was just amusing to him how quickly Baekhyun was more popular than him.

No doubt he was much kinder when people approached too.

“Don’t take photos of my kids,” Chanyeol growled as he noticed her phone coming out, he rolled his eyes and gathered Jangmi’s stroller to start walking away from her and pushing his daughter on the sidewalk towards the swings more.

He knew how fans worked - they’d follow - Chanyeol just felt bad to ruin the twins' fun. “Boys! We need to go to the store now!” He yelled, tapping his foot impatiently on the cement.

_ “Daddy!”  _ Jongin screamed, a wood chip in his hair and his face pink as he rushed over, Kyungsoo, of course, was taking his sweet time getting some last few swings on. “Daddy! Can we get ice cream?” 

Chanyeol laughed and knelt down to fix Jongin's zipper seeing as it was midway zipped at his chest. “Why do you think that’s a good idea in winter, baby?”

_ “Because,”  _ Jongin huffed exasperatedly and Chanyeol was  _ just  _ realizing why Baekhyun was making comments about the boy being spoiled because of his tone, “It tastes  _ good  _ and mommy is sick.” 

“Exactly, why would we get ice cream if your mom is sick - Kyungsoo, let’s go!” 

Jongin huffed and  _ huffed  _ again, turning to grab the side of the stroller as he bent down to grab Jangmi’s blanket that was dragging a bit, “Daddy, you’re  _ not  _ getting it.” 

Chanyeol snickered both in shock  _ and  _ in amusement, petting Jongin's hair and eyeing Kyungsoo with a last warning look to which the smaller twin pouted but started coming over. “Okay, you win, mister. Do me a favor and  _ don’t  _ give your mom that attitude, okay?” 

“I don’t!” Jongin yipped, laughing and trying to push Jangmi even though he couldn’t see over the stroller.

“Little attitude,” Chanyeol whispered, chuckling and turning to grab Kyungsoo's hand to help him over the step up onto the concrete walkway, “We need to go get groceries, little owl, so please be quicker next time,” He scolded gently.

Kyungsoo just pouted his lips, “Okay, b.. but mommy lets us play  _ mores,”  _ but Chanyeol knew he’d do the same next time despite saying okay. 

“It’s just  _ more,  _ my love.” Chanyeol corrected, steering Jangmi towards the car with Jongin latched with a hand on the stroller and sort of getting in the way, “And I’m sorry, but we have a big list -“

_ “Mama!”  _ Jangmi cooed as soon as she heard Chanyeol’s ringtone with Baekhyun’s singing.

Honestly, Chanyeol was the  _ most whipped  _ person in the world and Sehun always got on his ass about it - Baekhyun as his ringtone, Baekhyun as his wallpaper - Chanyeol was  _ proud  _ okay? 

It wasn’t like Sehun never had his moments of coddling Baekhyun when he was over  _ either. _

“Baby, hey, you should be resting,” Chanyeol fussed, juggling his phone with his shoulder as he unlocked the car and tried to multitask.

_ “Mommy!”  _ Jongin screeched beside him to which the man sent him a  _ shush  _ look and pointed into the backseat.

_ “Babe…”  _ Baekhyun mumbled nasally, throat sounding raw,  _ “Hey… do you know when you’ll be back?” _

Chanyeol felt his face drop at his tone, he wanted Baekhyun to feel  _ better,  _ not still sound like he hadn’t slept in weeks, “Angel, i'll be back  _ as soon  _ as I can - I already did the park, we stopped off and filled up the car, I rescheduled your clothing fitting, now we need to go to the store and  _ oh  _ yeah, we need more diapers - that’s right, damn, what else is on that list…” 

_ “The list from the fridge?”  _

“Yes, gorgeous, that one - Soo, can you buckle Jangmi?” Chanyeol had half his body in the car, trying to reach into the middle seat to check seatbelts.

The twins were old enough he didn’t need to check theirs much, but sometimes he noticed Jongin doing his a little  _ too  _ loose and Chanyeol had anxiety over the state of Baekhyun from the car accident even though they had all been okay. 

He just wouldn’t risk it.

“Daddy Nono! No!” Jangmi began fussing as he tightened her up, waterworks starting.

Chanyeol sighed, “Nini, can you pass her the bunny toy?”

“Mimi is grumpy,” Jongin huffed. 

_ “Chan,”  _ Baekhyun laughed in his ear, the sound gravelly and painful,  _ “You’re adorable, you know that? Absolutely adorable. Goodness - babe, I do that list over the course of a week, not everyday! Oh god, I-you’re so cute, my love-“  _ He trailed off in a fit of laughter and Chanyeol felt his ears turn red.

Okay maybe he’d overestimated what a single person could do in a day, it wasn’t his fault because he could easily believe Baekhyun got all of that done.

“Well… well, you know - it’s not nice to tease me like that,” Chanyeol whined, climbing into the driver's seat, “It’s  _ not  _ my fault you’re amazing and you probably can accomplish all of these in one day, but I can’t -  _ yah,  _ stop laughing!  _ Baby! If you don’t stop I’m going to have to do something drastic!”  _

_ “Oh yeah?”  _ Baekhyun snorted,  _ “Like what? Is this a step in a direction of something sexual! At least wait until I feel better, my handsome husband!”  _

Chanyeol grumbled and huffed as Kyungsoo whined for music, dragging a hand across his face before reaching over to do as  _ the prince so requested.  _ “Baby, can I just say you’re insane and the  _ best  _ and I love you so please get well soon and help me with these gremlins again.” 

_ “You’re only saying that now that I mentioned sex!”  _

“Well, I certainly wouldn’t say  _ no..” _


	42. Extra: Daddy, Mommy, & Bug

“This is just a check up,” Chanyeol soothed, leaning over to press a kiss to Baekhyun’s shoulder, “No need to be worried.” 

“I forgot to take my supplements,” The smaller admitted quickly, a guilty look on his face when Chanyeol sent him a scolding look, “I’m sorry, Jangmi was on my tail and I forgot.” 

Chanyeol  _ sighed  _ dramatically, turning to the stroller at his side, “Jangmi, are you giving mommy a hard time?”

In response the baby peered up at him with her purple bunny onesies hood falling over her eyebrows, grabbing her binky from the tray in front of her and tiredly  _ tossing  _ it at the floor, “Dada,” She whined and pointed at it.

“Your kid.” Baekhyun chirped, snickering and rubbing over the bandage on his arm.

At least this time the blood tests were only for  _ one  _ test, it was quickly done, now they just needed to wait for the papers back.

“You keep saying that like it’s a  _ hassle  _ to deal with her,” Chanyeol snorted, “Are you calling me a hassle, huh?”

“Well I’m certainly not saying you’re  _ easy  _ to deal with, daddy!” Baekhyun teased, giggling and squeezing Chanyeol’s thigh, leaning against him in a way that said  _ kiss me!  _

So, the man did, laughing and pressing a kiss to his mouth, “You know, when you say daddy out of context like that it sounds very interesting.” 

_ “Kinky,”  _ The smaller mumbled, eyes half lidded as Chanyeol pet his hair out of his face, “You are incredibly kinky these days, Chan, might have to take a break! We can’t have another Jangmi right now.” 

Hearing her name the baby girl  _ screeched,  _ the only thing muffling the noise was the teddy bear sticking out of her mouth.

“What  _ she  _ said,” Chanyeol mused, reaching over to push the stroller back and forth a bit, “Nothing wrong with another Jangmi, baby.” 

There  _ wasn’t,  _ and Baekhyun pouted his lips guiltily, fitting his head into Chanyeol’s neck with a sigh, legs almost half on the others knee when he turned to kiss his jaw.

It was just that Baekhyun couldn't really afford to get pregnant these days, he was getting a little too busy, it was to the point where Junmyeon and Minseok had the baby a few days a week to babysit.

They, of course, didn’t mind, but it was just strange - Baekhyun wasn’t used to being the one not watching the kids, but since the twins had school until three in the afternoon now and since he’d started recording a new album - there was no  _ time. _

He never did this, never had work over his family, and he knew he shouldn’t feel bad about it - Chanyeol had to do stuff like this all the time - but it just made him feel out of place to be the one driving home late and seeing all the kids tucked in already.

Baekhyun never thought Chanyeol would be the one waiting on the couch to start a movie for them to watch, but he  _ was.  _

So strange.

“Maybe next spring I can stop taking birth control,” Baekhyun mumbled, “At least let the dust settle after album release. Oh, then you have the annual press conference, shit… maybe winter? I don’t know, Kyungsoo has a check in with his speech-“

_ “Baby.  _ Angel.” Chanyeol chuckled and turned to hug his shoulders with a snort, “It’s  _ not  _ that deep right now. I’m happy, you’re happy - the kids are  _ happy,  _ I’m only teasing you. You’re the one that sets yourself up for teasing! Stop fussing, Baekhyun, I love you even if we don’t have more gremlins.” 

“I thought Jangmi was a princess?” Baekhyun joked to hide that his face was turning pink, fingers adjusting the others' coats with a sheepish look.

“Yeah,” Chanyeol clicked his tongue, “Well, she also ate one of Kyungsoo's crayons - so that says that.” 

Baekhyun burst into laughter recalling the amount of panic Chanyeol had that day, it wasn’t exactly everyday he got a call during a photo shoot of the other near tears saying Jangmi was  _ spitting purple!  _

It took about two seconds of hearing Kyungsoo whining in the background to respond with a,  _ “Babe. Have you checked the art drawer?”  _

Sure enough, wide open and a disaster of a drawer.

_ “Park Baekhyun!”  _ One of the nurses called making Baekhyun snap out of his laughter when his husband was moving to receive the documents.

He still giggled to himself though as he pulled the stroller closer to jostle the dangling rings for the baby.

_ “Wahhhh!”  _ Jangmi cooed with sparkling eyes, reaching up to touch them.

“What do we do with you, ladybug?” Baekhyun laughed, noticing her little blanket was sliding off due to frantic excitement, “You’re such a squirmy bug, like Jongin.” 

“Baby,” Chanyeol strolled over with his eyes on the paper, “Can I read it?” 

Baekhyun  _ actually  _ laughed because he already was reading it, plus it wasn’t like he cared at all.

Honestly, he was much more interested in watching his husband walk over looking so handsome for  _ no  _ reason. 

There was absolutely no reason Chanyeol should look so good in just sweats and a beanie, but still, for someone older than him, he looked much younger than his age.

“Just tell me what it says, babe,” Baekhyun commented, swinging his coat over his arm and getting up to push the stroller.

It really wasn’t like they wanted to spend more time than needed in a hospital waiting room.

“Hmm.” 

Baekhyun burst into giggles when the larger curled over his back, the paper crinkling in Chanyeol’s hand as he kissed the nape of his neck. Chanyeol was such a huge child - literally like the twins getting in the way when trying to “help” push Jangmi. 

“Chanyeol,” Baekhyun whined, “You are making it  _ really _ difficult to get to the car, handsome.” 

“Good, let’s go out to breakfast first.” 

Baekhyun snorted, but didn’t disagree, just playfully pretending to bite Chanyeol's arm when the man stopped him to wrap him in a back hug.

“All clear,” Chanyeol mumbled, a huge grin pressing into Baekhyun’s temple, “Iron levels were average. So proud of you, sweetheart. Gonna treat you all day today.” 

“You act like you aren’t the best person  _ ever  _ and don’t spoil me everyday, my love.” Baekhyun chided fondly, curling a hand over Chanyeol's hand that was holding onto the stroller, “Really. The best husband is Park Chanyeol.” 

“Don’t you make me cry!” 

Baekhyun made sure to internally add  _ emotional to  _ the list of traits to describe his husband. 


	43. Extra: Popularity

In less than a year they’d been married Baekhyun had to confront something he thought he’d be incredibly scared to do.

He had been invited to a music show.

For Chanyeol, it wasn’t surprising, the man claimed he got invitations to stuff like that all the time, he just said he was  _ much  _ more preoccupied coddling Baekhyun than not doing so.

What a lie when his husband spent 75% of the day squeezing the kids until Kyungsoo got teary and screamed about being squished. 

Baekhyun was growing used to nice clothes and flashing lights, he felt cocky when they stepped out of the limousine and even though he’d been teasing Chanyeol for his bright pink hair, it weirdly fit him.

Well, at least  _ finally _ someone other than Jangmi liked it - but the baby hardly counted when she only liked it because Chanyeol told her  _ pink for my princess!  _ As if he hadn’t lost a dare and was forced into a salon.

Chanyeol was such a liar, but one that could get away with relatively anything.

Even coddling him in front of  _ hundreds  _ of people, maybe thousands, Baekhyun was a busy mother and had yet to even hold a concert larger than a few hundred so he didn’t even know what a thousand people looked like.

“Baby,” Chanyeol had to press close to his ear in order to be heard, grip tight on his waist, “Photos and then-“

_ “Baekhyun!” _

_ “It’s Baekhyun!” _

_ “Parks! Park- ah, I’m going to pass out!”  _

Baekhyun couldn’t stifle his laughter at the screaming fans leaning over the gate, he felt awfully bad at the guards walking the fence because their job was probably  _ so  _ difficult.

Especially right now.

“Oh fuck me, right? Who the hell is Park Chanyeol?”

“My husband.” Baekhyun giggled and turned to coddle his huge, childish husband, cupping his face to kiss his forehead and standing on his toes. “Go find my manager, would you?” 

“Aish! I’m just an assistant!” Chanyeol whined, kneeling down with wide eyes, “I only accept kissing as payment.” 

Baekhyun was  _ so  _ not about to get caught making out on camera, it was probably going to be cheesy enough when all their friends blew them up with pictures of them cooing at each other.

They really got teased endlessly.

“Raincheck, handsome. You can’t trick me with that,” Baekhyun scolded, “You’re sounding more like Jongin everyday, you little shit.” 

Chanyeol grinned cockily and it was ridiculous how fast Baekhyun saw him wipe his grin to replace it with a blank expression as though he hadn’t looked like a child only moments ago. “I'll check the weather in like five minutes.” 

Baekhyun literally snorted, Chanyeol was  _ ridiculous  _ and he had a straight face as if he hadn’t just given the  _ worst  _ dad joke in history. 

He wasn’t sure if it was to spare himself the embarrassment of being captured ugly laughing or because he was just done with Chanyeol being such a huge stupid  _ loveable  _ man, but he pulled away with a hidden grin.

Unlike Chanyeol, he didn’t mind the public too much, he didn’t mind meeting people that legitimately supported him.

“Hello!” Baekhyun grinned and dug into his silk pocket to find a pen, he was learning from Chanyeol to  _ always  _ have one on him because god knew where people had their own.

He had to deal with enough baby germs.

“Oh, oh my god - oh my-“

Baekhyun couldn't help feeling a bit  _ cocky  _ at all of the fans coming towards the fence, but of course he didn’t want anyone harmed. “Please scoot back - please give them space!” 

It wasn’t really listened to, but he saw security beginning to swim through crowds and knew they’d have to do  _ something. _

In the meantime he giggled softly at the fans wide eyed looks, “Did you want to speak to me or Chanyeol?” 

“M-Mister Park? No, no - I…” 

The girl began to fan herself and Baekhyun smiled gently as he grabbed a random shirt that was hanging over the fence to sign, glancing at the girl because she looked near passing out. 

“Are you okay, honey?” He worried softly, trying to sign a few more items and not be snatched.

That’s what the bodyguards lined up on the fence were for anyway.

_ “Honey!”  _ He heard someone in the crowd scream, Baekhyun snorted and laughed.

“I have three kids, I guess terms like that come easily.” He crooned, leaning his elbows onto the barrier.

He wasn’t afraid no matter  _ how many  _ times Luhan had told him to not get so close to fans - that there was  _ always  _ a chance that he'd get a crazed one.

Baekhyun only cared that people felt like they mattered to him, even if it was only for a moment, even if it was just a second of their time.

For a moment, they mattered to him. He looked at them, smiled at them, and knew it was more than he could have asked for from someone so prestigious when he was in their place.

_ “Baekhyun!” _

The singer giggled at the hiss of his husband, knowing he’d be scolded for his behavior later, but that was  _ fine -  _ they had all the time in the world tonight with the kids at Minseok’s and the house to themselves.

Hopefully, they wouldn’t be  _ too  _ exhausted when they got back home.

“Don't push on each other from now on, okay?” The carrier requested, smiling blindly as he turned to step up onto the platform stage.

“Don't you smile at me like that.” Chanyeol huffed, back straight like he was alerted as he grabbed his waist and pulled Baekhyun on his hip, “Stop it!” He demanded.

Baekhyun just beamed harder, so much so his eyes were nearly shut as he cooed,  _ “What? Doing what? I’m just looking at you, babe!”  _

The taller growled although leaning over to press a kiss to his hair, tucking Baekhyun’s head to his chest and away from flashing lights. “Good thing the kids are gone. You don’t listen at  _ all  _ today.” 

“You just want to punish me.”

“You won’t hear me disagreeing with that, baby.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last Extra, I’m so glad you guys enjoyed them!


	44. Extra: Jongin goes viral

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Congratulations Jongin~ we love you so much ♥️ 
> 
> (This chapter is before Jangmi is born)

“No! No, really!” 

Chanyeol laughed into the other end and Baekhyun groaned, gently pushing Kyungsoo away from his belly seeing as the toddler wouldn’t leave him be. “Chan! It’s not funny!”

_“Oh, of course it is, babe! He’s a little kid, people will forget by next week!”_

Baekhyun blankly stared at the television across the room, one hand across his belly and the other on the counter, “Yeah? Because he’s on the news right now.” 

_“Mommy!”_ Kyungsoo cried, annoyed that Baekhyun wasn’t looking at his picture, he grabbed the carriers round stomach and pressed his face into it again for attention, to which Baekhyun groaned and pet his head.

 _“You’re shitting me!”_ And _there_ was that angry drawl Baekhyun had been looking for. He was wondering how long it was going to take before Chanyeol realized how big a mistake he’d made. _“Fuck!”_ Baekhyun could hear him echo due to the car bluetooth seeing as Chanyeol was on his way home. _“Didn't I say they didn’t have permission to use our children in the media!”_

“See? If you ever disagree with me again I’ll smack you, Chan.” Baekhyun commented lightheartedly.

_“If you keep threatening to smack me all the time, I’m going to assume this is some new kink.”_

Baekhyun took a moment to bend down, although he was relieved seeing as since Chanyeol had enough energy to make jokes he wasn't _completely_ angry, meaning he wasn’t going to scream at news stations at the moment.

“Baby,” Baekhyun sighed and cupped Kyungsoo's cheek, “Go clean up for dinner, mommy wants _daddy time,_ we can have twin time after dinner.” 

He understood it must be annoying right now for Kyungsoo, his brother was playing on the television and Baekhyun had to pick them up from school two days in a row due to the reporters trying to get Jongin on camera.

It was obnoxiously harmful to Kyungsoo, how his brother could have so much attention overnight.

This wasn't to say Kyungsoo wasn’t hounded by paparazzi, they _all_ were, and Chanyeol had literally broken a glass when he found out a magazine used unapproved documents about their son's speech improvement once.

But, this was blowing way out of proportion.

“Kay,” Kyungsoo mumbled, his round eyes staring at Baekhyun with a pout before he placed a small palm on his belly and gave it a _pat pat,_ “Buh bye, Mi.” 

“First of all,” Baekhyun whispered into the phone when he watched the boy waddle to climb the stairs, “I really think if you start getting boners when I smack you, then it’s a problem, Chanyeol. Secondly, where are you at?” 

_“Okay, but I think any man with eyes would get a boner just close to you - so you can’t blame me! And I’m on the way! Around the corner and ready to kiss you silly!”_

Baekhyun snickered at his dramatics and moved to lean on the side of the couch, rubbing a hand over his stomach before deciding to reach over and turn up the volume on the television. “Do you hear this?”

_“Sort of? Put me on speaker, baby.”_

“And in other news!” The reporter continued, “The secret son of CEO Park Chanyeol and new soloist Byun Baekhyun, has started an early career himself! _A dancer!_ One of their twin sons has been racking up views when Oh Sehun accidentally posted _this_ video of him to his Instagram - it was taken down within minutes, but reposts have put it right back up again!” 

Baekhyun pinched the bridge of his nose at the video, he knew Sehun felt terrible, and they were not really mad, but it was _difficult_ already to have no control over where their children’s faces showed up in the media.

At least the video was completely adorable. 

Jongin always had a penchant for dancing, and nothing in the world was going to stop the kindergartener from dancing his heart out on top of a coffee table. 

Baekhyun couldn’t even hear what song he was dancing to because he could just hear their family cheering for him. 

He knew exactly from when the video was from because of Jongin's Elmo pajamas and the brand new luxury diaper bag in the background - one that they’d gotten hate for people seeing when the truth was Chanyeol got it as a _gift -_ they would never spend so much on such basic things.

Curse Chanyeol and how easily he could convince Baekhyun for a date night - Sehun had to be _supervised_ from now on.

_“Well, I guess we’ll have free dance academy offers? Ha ha.”_

Baekhyun rolled his eyes and shut off the television, he could hear the car pulling up outside, “I’m going to check on him, meet me upstairs when you get in?” 

_“I’m going to get in touch with Yifan and see if he can get some legal threats going, I’ll be a minute.”_

He snorted and hung up, glancing to see Chanyeol leaning against the outside of the front door, no doubt about to curse up a storm.

The thought made Baekhyun laugh as he grasped the railing to walk up the stairs.

There were legos scattered all over the middle of the overhang that they’d made into a makeshift play area for the twins.

They both just hadn’t gotten used to not having to share a room yet, so at odd hours they found the twins sneaking out of rooms to join each other - the play area at least gave them a space to meet up.

“Nini, what are you doing, baby bear?” Baekhyun laughed and used the side of the rainbow cubbies to kneel down.

The boy used the flat of his palm to shove his hair out of his eyes hastily, only for it to block his vision once again. “Playin’ Mama.” 

“You’re playing?” He cooed, turning to dig into a plastic container of accessories - the twins liked to play dress up _too_ and it was unfair to limit their choices in items just because it was _pink_ or marketed for _girls -_ pulling out a hair band. “How can you play without seeing, huh? Come here, baby.”

Jongin giggled and held his fistful of legos as he scooted on his knees closer, “Daddy says it’s _okay.”_

“Yeah, well, daddy is going to not be able to see soon _too,”_ Baekhyun laughed, pressing a loud kiss to Jongin’s cheek as he pulled his hair back, “It’s going to be funny, huh? Daddy’s hair is going to make him run into stuff. Let’s convince him to cut it, Nini.” 

“But I _like.”_

“Aish, you two are too alike,” Baekhyun giggled, wrapping his arms around Jongin’s little shoulders and getting a partial whine before the child just flopped onto his neck. 

“Be like daddy.” 

He snorted and brushed a hand through the baby hairs that refused to be pulled back, pressed a second kiss to his temple before, with all his energy, forcing Jongin to let him hold him like a baby.

Jongin was just getting _too big,_ almost a head taller than Kyungsoo.

“Mommy loves you, Jonginnie,” Baekhyun cooed, running a hand over Jongin’s stomach, “I know you’re sad right now because you can’t see your friends for a few days, but we can always figure something else out. Maybe Taemin’s mom can let him come stay with us for a night.” 

It wouldn’t be the first time, not only because Jongin’s best friend was just the sweetest thing ever, but because they were growing pretty close to the Lee family.

It likely had to do with Chanyeol’s _hero complex,_ because they weren’t exactly in the best financial situation - nothing like how Baekhyun had been, but every family not as blessed as theirs struggled.

It didn’t bother them at all to buy Taemin a few supplies while they were out, or to snatch him up when his mother couldn’t find a babysitter.

Baekhyun was just _waiting_ for the day when Chanyeol blew up and decided to let Taemin's mother know if she needed help, they could give it. 

Chanyeol was sweet, but claimed it was _Baekhyun_ that had made him want to be so kind to people, Baekhyun always rolled his eyes at him.

“Mommy, am I in trouble for dancing? Uncle Hunnie said it was an _accident.”_ Jongin pouted, chin pressing down to his chest and fiddling with his legos.

“Oh, baby _no,”_ Baekhyun frowned, gently prying his chin up, “You can do anything you like, baby. It’s the people that always bother mommy and daddy that are in trouble, they want to bother our Jongin and we won’t let them do that.” 

Jongin’s eyes swirled around in thought before he placed his legos down and held his chubby cheek in a palm, “So can still _dancin’?”_

“Of course!” Baekhyun cried dramatically, grabbing a little hand to hold and playfully blowing a raspberry into his palm because it made Jongin giggle and show off pearly teeth, “You can dance right now for all I care, you want to dance? Mama will dance with you awhile.” 

Unlikely, his knees and spine would start hurting after about five minutes of moving, but Jongin didn’t need to know that.

 _“No,”_ His son reached over and latched a hand on Baekhyun’s shirt, “We talking now, mommy.” 

Baekhyun actually had to scrunch his nose with a laugh before pecking Jongin’s head a bunch of times.

“When did you get so cute? Was it daddy? Is he feeding you lines!” Baekhyun cried, squeezing him to his chest although his stomach was in the way.

_“Mommy!”_

Baekhyun made an _oomph_ noise at the impact as Kyungsoo slammed into his back laughing, obviously taking him sitting on the floor as play time, dangling on his shoulders. “Mommy, kiss!”

“You rascal! I said _love mommy,_ not _attack mommy.”_ Chanyeol scolded from the hallway.

Baekhyun just laughed at Kyungsoo's mumble of _same ting,_ tilting his head up to accept a slobbery kiss to his mouth before the kindergartner was running towards Jongin’s abandoned legos.

“If love means attacking, then you better be ready, angel face.” Chanyeol warned playfully, pointing a finger at Baekhyun when they locked eyes.

The carrier snickered and kissed Jongin’s head before letting him go, flopping a hand towards Chanyeol for help. “Tell daddy to cut his hair, Nini Bear.” 

“But I _like,_ mommy.” Jongin argued as he attached to Chanyeol’s leg, “Mama tell me he no like.” 

“I did _not,”_ Baekhyun whined, circling arms around Chanyeol's waist, “I said you were a danger hazard with long hair, and it’s right.” 

“I guess we’ll find out, I’m not cutting it until Jongin cuts his - right, Jonginnie?”

 _“Right!”_ Jongin screamed as he rushed towards Kyungsoo.

“Ugh,” Baekhyun whined, pressing a kiss to Chanyeol’s cheek before twisting around to press his back into the larger chest needily, fiddling with his fingers. “I’ve been betrayed by my own kids.” 

“I would never betray you,” Chanyeol murmured, wrapping arms around his waist and pressed lips to his ear, “But I’m still not getting a haircut - you seem to like it more at _bed time_ anyway.” 

Baekhyun grumbled and wanted to elbow him for teasing him in front of the kids - even though they had zero clue - but instead just hummed an agreement and swayed a bit.

 _“_ You’re extra _cute_ today.” 

“I’m cute everyday.” 

“Well, I can’t argue with the truth.” 

Baekhyun giggled and turned his head to press a kiss to Chanyeol’s cheekbone as the man rested his chin on his shoulder, “I told Jongin we could have a dance party.” 

“Everyday is a dance party for Nini.” 

“He thinks he’s in trouble because of the video, and because he school says to let things settle down before taking him back.” 

Chanyeol made an irritated noise at that, gently grabbing Baekhyun’s hand and turning him around only to spin him again, “Babies! Mommy and daddy are dancing, do you want to dance!” 

Baekhyun was really _blessed_ and with Chanyeol he was reminded of it all the time, “Nini! Mommy wants to dance with you.” 

_“Me too!”_

Chanyeol snorted and pulled away with a kiss to Baekhyun’s mouth in order to scoop up a grumpy Kyungsoo, _“Nobody forgets our little owl! We know, grumpy pants!”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I said the last was the LAST BUT THIS ONE REALLY IS OKAY! I posted that before we had Baby Bear’s album info~


	45. Extra: The Bump In The Road (Pt. 1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Baekhyun’s PTSD plays a big part in this

“But when will you be back?”

_“Baby. I don’t know? A day? Two?”_

Baekhyun shifted his jaw irritably, dropping his forehead into his palm as he pressed his phone to his ear harder. “Chanyeol. Jangmi has been asking where you’ve been for two days.” 

He heard a heavy sigh from the other end yet instead of _soothing_ him, it just made Baekhyun let out an angry noise. “Park Chanyeol, your daughter has been asking for you. The twins too, they’re asking why you aren’t getting them from school.” 

_“Baekhyun.”_ Baekhyun had never heard this kind of tone from Chanyeol _ever._

It was angry, pissed, tired. It made his hair stand up. _“I told you last month that I was going to get busy soon. I told you, and you said it was fine since you were on a hiatus. I know you’re new to this sort of work, but it gets busy and tiring and I may need to spend some time at the office -“_

“New?” Baekhyun bubbled with a scowl, sitting up straight and leaning against the fridge to peer into the living room and check their daughter. “New? Are you trying to say I don’t understand how _working_ is? How much _work_ it is to make music? God, you’ve been so arrogant lately.” 

_“I don’t want to fight with you, Baekhyun, I don’t have time to explain things to you right now. Can't you just take my word for it, baby? You’re misunderstanding like usual.”_

Baekhyun would have been _fine_ just accepting Chanyeol saying he didn’t want to argue over the phone, that they could talk when he got back home, but now… now he was _pissed_ and felt his ears redden. “As usual? As _usual?_ You know what - don’t even come home today, I don’t want to see you.” 

He hung up with a scowl but tears were forming in his eyes as he squeezed his phone in a fist. It began to vibrate again, and he knew Chanyeol _never_ let them finish a call without exchanging _I love you’s,_ but Baekhyun wouldn’t pretend he wasn’t mad right now.

Chanyeol was a workaholic, he'd always been and he'd been so bad about it when they were dating, but back then Baekhyun had been busy too, so he didn’t really have time to realize these things.

And then when the Youngmin shit was going on Chanyeol took a break, and when Jangmi came Chanyeol didn’t leave his side for months - Baekhyun just didn’t _know_ it could be this much.

It was hard.

For the past few months Chanyeol had been increasingly spending time working, and normally it was fine, normally he would let one of the twins play in his office while he worked or would move Jangmi’s playpen inside there with him. 

Until he decided to increase his work time at _the office,_ not at home. 

Then, they began to have some issues. 

Baekhyun tried to say something, he'd tried to explain that it was unfair to the kids and that Chanyeol should work from home again instead, but then it turned into him sounding like he was complaining, and he always backed down after the first attempt to tell his husband in fear of upsetting him. 

Now, Baekhyun was just _lost._

He wanted to know where the Chanyeol that let Kyungsoo play with his keyboard went, or the man that would rather die than not be there for Jangmi to stomp all over him. 

_Fuck,_ Baekhyun would kill right now for the Chanyeol that worried about him so much it used to make him blush.

_“Mama!”_

Baekhyun quickly wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and fixed his frown before dropping his phone into his pocket as he approached the head of messy black hair and wide, puppy dog eyes that were peering over the back of the couch. 

“I thought I told you to sit still on the couch or you will be back in your walker,” He scolded, gathering the one year old who had tight fists holding herself up on the cushion.

Jangmi wanted to do what her brothers did, and if sitting on the couch made her happy enough not to cry when Baekhyun took a call, then by all means she can sit still with eyes watching her every move.

“Dada!” Jangmi squealed, tilting her head a bit and making a grabby hand towards the phone. “Dada?”

Baekhyun sighed and pressed a kiss to her cheek, smoothing down the bottom of her dress, “Daddy is busy, I know you miss him, babygirl.” 

Jangmi screeched a babble, tossing little arms around his neck and pressing her little cheek to his neck as Baekhyun started up the stairs.

He hummed as if he understood when really all Jangmi babbled these days was random words or names. “How nice, Mimi! Let’s go see what your brothers are up to.” 

She squealed an excited noise and banged a little hand on his shoulder that sort of hurt, he wasn’t exactly built like a punching bag, but with babies it certainly felt he should be.

The twins were the literal _worst_ about bruising him when they were Jangmi’s age though, two babies pummeling him was difficult, and trying to give them both equal attention was even harder when Jongin used to be a huge crier over Kyungsoo.

Seems things changed when they got a bit older.

“Boys?” Baekhyun shifted his daughter a bit and pushed Jongin's bedroom door open. 

Jangmi babbled an echo that sounded like a very good attempt at repeating her mommy, and it made the carrier cheer up only the smallest bit, because she was really adorable.

 _And_ looked just like Chanyeol. 

Baekhyun sighed at the thought as he watched his steps walking into the astronaut themed room.

Jongin would probably throw a fit for a different theme next month, he wasn’t like Kyungsoo who was content to have superheroes all over his room all the time, he liked to change things up often. 

“Mommy!” Jongin cried, “We are making spaceships! Uncle Lu let us pick out toys when he got us from school!” 

As if they _needed_ any more toys truthfully, but Baekhyun would never say no to people giving the kids things, he knew they enjoyed it.

“I see that, baby.” He murmured, taking a seat and bringing Jangmi into his lap.

She giggled up a storm, “ _Hi-hi!”_

“Hi, Mimi.” Kyungsoo murmured uninterestedly, busy shoving legos together with photo instructions in his lap, the five year old was huffing and puffing like this was such a pressing issue.

Baekhyun laughed and shook his head. 

“Did you have fun at school?” 

“When is daddy coming back?” Jongin complained instead of answering, pursing his little lips and then frowning and reaching over to push Jangmi’s hand away. “Hey! Those are mine!” 

“Be nice to your sister,” Baekhyun scolded but pried the lego out of little fingers. Instead twisting to grab one of Jongin's bigger toys, a light up iron man and give it to her to play with.

He saw the boy pout at that, they both knew it would just be slobbered when she was done with it, but Jongin didn’t argue, and Baekhyun appreciated it because he wasn’t in the mood.

“Mama,” Kyungsoo said with renewed interest, looking up at him with such expressive, round eyes, “Can I call daddy now?” 

_“No.”_ Baekhyun said swiftly, stomach doing a quick turn because he didn’t want to call Chanyeol or hear his voice at all right now. 

But he realized it was unfair to the kids and licked his lips to quickly add, “I just called, Soo. He’s very busy, but I’m sure he’s going to be very happy when you call him after dinner.” 

“But I want to call him _now._ I want to tell him I did a test today!”

 _“Hey!_ I did a test _too!”_ Jongin argued and snatched the paper from Kyungsoo's lap.

“Stop it you two,” Baekhyun scolded, unsure why the twins were so on edge lately. 

Yesterday he had caught Kyungsoo shoving one of Jongin's favorite toy cars down the toilet and a week ago it was him receiving a call that Jongin refused to work together with his classmates.

Nothing had changed recently.

Well, nothing except….

Baekhyun knew it was stressful for them, they wanted to see Chanyeol all of the time, when they were younger they were _used_ to it. But he knew they were acting up a little because Baekhyun was forced to call Chanyeol about it.

He always had to call and tell him what the boys were in trouble for and have Chanyeol scold them a little - after all, if both parents didn’t express why they’d done bad and if Chanyeol came home just to ignore the issue, then the kids would continue to be naughty.

God was it frustrating though. 

Chanyeol wasn’t good at scolding the kids over the phone, he needed to be here with a stern look and to not accept the kids crocodile tears and instead tell them why they were bad and how they could be kinder in the future.

Baekhyun felt like he was back to doing all the work by himself.

“Mama…” Jangmi whined into his shirt, dropping the toy to hug his shirt to her little mouth instead, blinking up at him. “Mama _mwah!”_ She cooed with a little twinkle to her eyes, yanking at his top.

“Mw-“ Baekhyun’s voice cracked and he hadn’t realized until then that he felt sick and teary, his hands looked paler than normal when he shifted the baby to stand on her toes and kiss her cheek, “Mwah, mwah, there are some kisses, princess.” 

He squeezed her to his chest and felt even worse about how she cuddled into his cheek to press wet, open mouth and drooly kisses to his cheek. 

The kids needed more attention than he could really give between trying to keep the twins from fighting, trying to look over their schoolwork, making sure Jangmi wasn’t doing naughty things, checking in with Yifan about his schedule, counting down the days until he needed to come back.

“Mommy?” Jongin whispered.

Baekhyun snapped his gaze up with a short nod and rather fake smile, “I’m listening, Nini Bear.”

“Do… do you need a hug?” 

He swallowed and found the two pairs of wide and confused eyes from the twins wasn't something they should be looking at him with.

Baekhyun felt horrible. He was an _adult,_ he should be able to not be so fucking emotional.

And the twins weren’t little anymore, they had an idea what was going on even if they didn’t _truly_ understand. He couldn’t really get away with faking it now.

“I… yes, yes I do want a hug, baby.” Baekhyun whispered weakly, motioning towards him with the hand he'd been using to soothe Jangmi with. 

The twins came over for hugs, and even though they were beginning to complain when Baekhyun hassled them for kisses before school or when Chanyeol put notes in their lunches, they still really liked attention.

They were still children after all, even if they pretended to complain they still both snuck off into each other's or their parent’s room when they had nightmares, or collectively asked for stories before bed. 

He heard Jangmi make a muffled excited noise and saw her little hand instead latch onto Jongin since he was close enough, and laughed because he knew Jongin would be complaining about her drooly fingers soon enough. 

“Thank you, babies,” Baekhyun whispered softly, pressing his forehead into Kyungsoo's head and sniffling a small bit, “My sweet boys.” 

_“Nini!”_ Jangmi muffled and he heard Jongin's irritated noise that let him know play time was over, “Mama! She has my hair!” 

Well, it was nice for about two seconds.

He carefully detached little fingers from Jongin, but Jangmi whined and did grabby hands towards him. 

Jongin huffed and let his sister latch onto his arm with a squeal.

Jangmi could care less about anything else then, just standing with jumpy legs and using her brothers arm to hang on, the twins knew to be careful and that she wasn’t the best at walking, or even standing, so Baekhyun knew they’d be careful.

“You guys can call your dad,” Baekhyun said quietly, bringing his phone out and saw _23 messages and 8 missed calls_ sitting on the screen tauntingly.

It didn’t look like any of the messages were a _sorry_ though, more of complaints he wasn’t answering the phone and saying _I love you._ Baekhyun wasn’t in the mood and ignored them to give Kyungsoo his phone and stand up. 

“I’ll be back in a second to get Jangmi, don’t let her touch the legos.” He instructed, planning to take a second to calm down, but he knew his parental instincts would lead him to watch them anyway.

And he was completely right in assuming that because as soon as he stepped back into the hallway he couldn’t even find it in himself to walk to the bathroom down the hall in fear Jangmi would get a hand on a lego. But he really didn’t want to hear Chanyeol’s voice at all. 

_“Daddy!”_ Kyungsoo screamed down at the phone and Baekhyun watched him put it on the floor, “Daddy, when are you gonna get home!”

_“Hi, Soo! My baby owl, are you doing okay?”_

“Daddy I’m here too!” Jongin puffed, “Jangmi _too!”_

Just hearing her name made Jangmi squeak and grab a fistful of Jongin's shirt excitedly looking at her big brother.

They didn’t seem to notice Chanyeol dodged the question, but Baekhyun did. 

_“My little army is all there! Wow, what a special occasion! Look after your sister, okay? Is your mom there? Can you give him the phone and I’ll talk to babies in a minute?”_

“Daddy.” Jongin's face pulled into a frown, “I think mommy doesn’t feel too good, he’s very sad and not smiling.” 

Baekhyun’s face was already fixed into a flat look, but it dropped even more.

That _feeling_ of disappointment swirled in his stomach. It clawed at his throat and wanted to swallow him up.

Baekhyun pressed his back into the wall and took a seat on the carpet, covering his mouth to keep from speaking up. 

_“Don’t you worry,”_ Chanyeol spoke up calmly, as if he couldn’t be bothered at all by knowing that, and Baekhyun always envied how he could keep himself sounding so unbothered for the kids, but right now it just made him feel so _unneeded. “Daddy is coming home to see mommy later, but the babies may be sleeping so I’ll give you kisses over the phone, okay?”_

Baekhyun didn’t know why, but the thought of Chanyeol coming home made him want to puke, and he hadn’t been scared of someone coming home in _years._

***

Chanyeol did come home.

He'd come home late, just as he’d said, when the kids were all tucked into bed and after Baekhyun had cleaned up the table.

Baekhyun just continued what he was doing, picking up some stray toys on the floor as he heard the front door lock and the sound of his husbands shuffling about.

“Are you just going to ignore me?” 

Baekhyun _was,_ he bit the inside of his cheek and began to fold up Jangmi’s baby blanket. 

“Baby,” Chanyeol frowned and walked into the living room to place his work bag onto the couch. “You can’t just ignore this.” 

“I can do whatever the hell I want, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun said under his breath, snatching a bottle out of the playpen and storming into the kitchen.

Of course heavy steps followed him, “Baekhyun. Please stop walking off.” 

In response Baekhyun crossed his arms over his stomach and walked past him with a head tilted towards the stairs, “I really don’t want to talk right now.” 

He was sort of expecting Chanyeol's response, after all it _had_ been him wanting to talk about it earlier. 

“You want to talk, then you don’t want to talk, can’t you choose one, Baekhyun?” Chanyeol sighed and rubbed his eyes with his fist, bags beneath them a tell all of how exhausted he was as he followed the carrier up the stairs.

Neither of them spoke on the way to their room, although Baekhyun did hear Chanyeol stop for a second to stand outside of Jangmi’s room, likely seeing if she was fussing.

Baekhyun couldn't explain how uncomfortable he felt to walk into their room knowing the tension was thick, his stomach was in his throat and he suddenly felt a million times smaller when Chanyeol came in and blindly pushed the door with one hand.

“Baek, baby. I didn’t mean to say you misunderstood, I mean that I’m working and sometimes work gets overwhelming, that’s what I meant.” Chanyeol said quietly, undoing the buttons on his collar. 

“You mean I don’t understand how _working_ is?” Baekhyun asked, scoffing slightly as he dug inside of his dresser for pajamas, the hair on the back of his neck stood up just knowing someone so much larger than him was behind him.

Maybe that’s why he felt like he wanted to puke, the anxiety, the _expectation_ he had in this situation was too familiar. 

“I had twins, alone, working two jobs for two years before I _ever_ met you, Chanyeol.” 

It was rude, he knew that, to undermine all Chanyeol did for them like that, but he felt like the man was implying he was incompetent, unable to take care of the kids.

Baekhyun was _so_ overwhelmed. 

“Damn it, Baekhyun!” Chanyeol hissed, “You want to know what I meant? _This_ is what I mean! I can’t do anything without you misunderstanding what I meant! When I say something I mean it in a certain situation, not everything applies to things you think they do!”

Baekhyun startled because Chanyeol _never_ yelled. They never really argued, and if they did it was full of disappointed sighs and apologies, but nothing with raised voices.

It pissed him off.

(And made his hands shake.)

“Then why the hell do you say them like they’re supposed to mean something else!” He cried, spinning around with his spine pressing into the dresser, “All I wanted was for you to be a fucking _dad_ and talk to your kids and you have to make excuses for everything! Do you even know that the twins had show and tell the other day? You know what Kyungsoo wanted to bring? He wanted to bring _daddy’s albums because daddy spends so much time with them!_

You’re being a real _shitty_ parent right now, you can be shit to me - _fuck,_ you know I wouldn’t care to throw a fit over my feelings - but I care when you’re making the kids miss you so much! I miss you, but I’m here talking for the kids because you live in the same fucking house with them and they shouldn’t _have_ to miss their dad like this!” 

“Now you’re just being dramatic, Baekhyun. Calm down, you’ll wake up the kids.” 

Baekhyun at first had no idea what to think. Chanyeol never spoke to him like that, he never made him feel so small.

The sinking feeling he felt was like a red flag, his stomach churned like he needed to get out before this got bad. 

Baekhyun swallowed and gathered an armful of random clothes, “I’m going to go sleep on the couch.” 

Chanyeol sighed irritably, approaching him, but it didn’t make the smaller feel even a _little_ better.

Instead it made his breath pick up and Baekhyun chewed on the inside of his cheek with eyes flickering to watch Chanyeol's hands.

“Angel,” Chanyeol said quietly, reaching out to cup his cheek and raise his chin. 

He didn’t notice how Baekhyun’s knees were weak or that the smaller raised his head like he needed to listen _immediately._ “This is the _problem,_ you don’t want to talk when things start to not look in your favor.” 

That… sounded _so_ familiar.

_It was your fault, if you didn’t open your mouth then your mouth wouldn’t be bleeding, sugar._

_Maybe if you listened then I wouldn’t have to hurt you._

_You were basically asking for it. You know better than to argue with me._

“I… I just don’t want to talk anymore,” He mumbled, dropping his eyes to look at the side of Chanyeol's face rather than at him, “I’m really… tired.” 

Chanyeol scowled and released his chin with a heavy noise, “You don’t think _I’m_ tired? Fuck, I’m exhausted Baekhyun. I was tired and then you called and wanted to _argue_ and don’t even want to finish talking now. You’re really acting like a _child_ these days I can’t even-“

He reached out to wrap fingers around Baekhyun’s wrist, oblivious to his shaking.

“Don’t touch me,” Baekhyun whispered under his breath, but Chanyeol was mid frustrated rant, thumb rubbing over his skin back and forth in what was supposed to be soothing, but it _wasn’t._

Youngmin used to play nice for a few minutes _too._

“- and still, you can’t handle the kids alone for a few days, I did it when you were recording your album and you just want to start a fight-“

 _“I said let me go!”_ Baekhyun wailed, yanking his arm from Chanyeol and trying to turn and rush out of the room but instead his foot caught on the rug and he fell into the dresser, tripping and smacking his chin on the opened drawer before catching himself on his hands and knees.

Baekhyun turned over, grabbing his chin with a wet sob and wheezing out for air as he sat on the floor in his dropped clothes. 

“Oh fuck, sweetheart. Baekhyun-“ Chanyeol whispered and knelt down to help him.

 _“Don't touch my mommy!”_ Came a shrill scream, the cracked bedroom door flying open before little legs came pumping quickly into the room decked out in fish printed pajamas. 

Jongin ran right up to Baekhyun and stood in front of him with his face full of tears and little arms out, “Don’t touch mommy!” 

Chanyeol's face was already contorted into apology, but now it was more of absolute pain, “Jongin, I didn’t hurt mom-“

“You hurt mommy!” The boy screamed.

Baekhyun grabbed the back of Jongin's pajamas, sniffling into his hair, “Sh, baby. Let’s go pack some clothes, o-okay?” 

_“Pack?”_ Chanyeol mouthed the word like it was unfamiliar and had tears gathering in his eyes, “No, no, Baekhyun. Please, let’s talk. Let’s talk, please.” 

The smaller ignored it in favor of petting Jongin's hair as his son cried into his neck, “You don’t have to be scared, it’s okay.” _Mommy is already scared enough for both of us._

“B-Baekhyun,” Chanyeol swallowed and pressed a hand to his lips with a shake of his head and disbelief in his eyes. “Don’t do this. _Please,_ it was an a-accident, baby, please. You can’t take the kids, I’m home now, okay? Baby I’m home and I’ll stay home if that’s what you wa-“

“Don’t _tell_ me what I can and can’t do with my own _kids,”_ Baekhyun burst, chin throbbing as he stood up and picked up Jongin.

He was too big to be held like this, but he would make it work seeing as the boy was crying his eyes out and clutching him. 

Chanyeol's brows rose in surprise, yet also irritation because of the _way_ it was said, “Our kids, Baekhyun. _Our kids._ You can’t just take them and go like this, we can talk this out _.”_

“Shut up! They’re mine!” Baekhyun sobbed, muffling his yell in Jongin's hair, “They’re _not yours, Chanyeol!_ You have _one_ kid and that’s it! Now I’m taking my kids and leaving!” 

_“W-What?”_ Came a small whisper into Baekhyun’s cheek, Jongin's chocolate eyes were bright red and filled with tears as he turned to eye Chanyeol, _“Daddy?”_

It was more of an angry slip than anything, Baekhyun was _scared_ and felt like a dog cornered in a cage and the only thing he had was Jongin to make sure he was leaving the room.

But Chanyeol literally _fell_ down on the ottoman at the end of their bed, hand shaking as he clenched his fists in his slacks with tears dripping off his chin, “Sh, don’t listen, Nini - we’re just… we’re having a disagreement, that’s all.” 

_Disagreement._ Baekhyun nearly began to sob again, but it was awfully hard to hold his son and cry already, he felt so _invalidated, small. Dramatic._

He sniffed and pressed a kiss to Jongin's head as he set him down, “Go pack up for you and your brother. I will get Jangmi’s bag, baby.” 

Jongin's little eyes were so confused, his hands curling into Baekhyun’s shirt, “Want to stay with mommy.” 

Chanyeol choked a sob and Baekhyun scrunched his nose to hold back his own, “No, mommy will be right back. I’ll be right downstairs, baby. Can you call uncle Jun? Ask him to turn on the lights for us.” 

_“Baekhyun, please…”_

Jongin shuffled and looked over his shoulder at Chanyeol, eyes flickering back and forth as if unsure what to do, but Chanyeol didn’t ask him _not to._ In fact, the man just looked as lost as Jongin did. Only he understood everything, and Jongin understood a little bit.

Chanyeol had his hands in his hair, racking them through anxiously but he gave a restrained nod at Jongin, “You l-listen to mommy,” His voice cracked and he sounded like he disagreed with himself, “Come here, baby. Let me get a hug before you go visit uncles.” 

Jongin stared at the hand held out with a small fist coming to rub his eye. Then, he turned to run out of the room in a flurry of loud sniffles and steps.

Chanyeol _dropped_ over his own knees, hands grabbing the back of his head and his body shook with cries.

Baekhyun wiped his face harshly, pressing a hand to the bottom of his chin and it came back with a bit of blood. It hardly stung though, probably because he was in more pain than a measly cut. 

“Chanyeol,” He mumbled, “I… I’m not taking them forever, just… just a little while.” 

The man didn’t even move, just muffling in his knees, “How will I know you will come _b-back?”_

Baekhyun wrung his hands together and eyed the open bedroom door, “You… you’ll have to trust me…” 

Chanyeol sat up then, because Baekhyun was walking towards the shoe rack and holding his chin, “Oh… oh, baby- I-I do trust you,” He whispered, “I just.. I can’t believe myself r-right now. I… Jangmi, Baekhyun - you’ll let me keep her here, right? I mean… she… she has a doctors appointment soon and she needs to have her crib and everything, I…” He stopped his flimsy excuses to stand up with his head down, “I just want to be _sure_ you're going to come back.” 

Baekhyun opened his mouth to burst with a firm argument. He didn’t want to leave his daughter here where it would be quiet and she would be asking for the twins.

But Chanyeol had a fair point even if he was ranting randomly, she didn’t have very many things at her uncles. 

Plus, he couldn’t… guarantee he wouldn’t change his mind. Anything for the kids. He was willing to do whatever he thought was best for them, and if this was the path he felt Chanyeol was going to take… he’d rather get them out now.

 _“Okay.”_ Baekhyun whispered, wallet in hand and slippers on his feet. It would be a difficult drive when his eyes were swollen and tears refused to stop falling, but he grabbed keys off the dresser anyway. 

“Can… can I say goodbye to the kids?” 

_“No.”_

“Can I at least make sure you’re not hurt?” 

Baekhyun pressed his finger to the wound and sobbed, _“No.”_

“Can I… at least… Baekhyun, I just… c-can I give my husband a hug?” Chanyeol wailed, hands outstretched in offering but he knew better than to even approach. Well, he learned that wasn’t the right move moments ago.

 _“No!”_ Baekhyun hissed, “Stop it! Stop it! Yo-you’re making me feel bad for caring about myself for once! You’re _scaring me!_ Chanyeol, I’m… i'm _scared of you right now.”_ He trailed off in a whisper.

Years ago he would have never ever thought he would hear himself say that, even _weeks_ ago never. Even this morning he wouldn’t have thought Chanyeol would scare him.

But the truth was Chanyeol was a large man. He towered over him, he could get angry, and he said things that worked open a little crack in Baekhyun’s mind that distorted years of their relationship into memories of fists and blood and wondering if that was _now_ or then.

It could be, if Chanyeol wanted it to be. 

When upset, Chanyeol liked to have eyes on him and liked to hold him and they could talk it out gently, but today… neither of those things felt very calm or sweet when Baekhyun had been worrying all _day_ about what would happen when he got home.

_Maybe if I stay in the corner, he’ll see that I’m already scared._

It was hard for him to stop and remember this was _Chanyeol_ who had never and _still_ had never hurt him.

“I love you. I-I… _fuck_ I love you so much, Baekhyun.

I love you _so_ m-much. I’m so sorry, I never… I never meant to scare you. Or-or the kids, I really didn’t.. I’m so- I love you, I _just_ love you. I can’t express how… how sorry I am- Baekhyun, please think ab-about this...” 

The only thing those words were missing was more _if only you wouldn’t have spoken up,_ and it missed the _it won’t ever happen again._ If it had both of these, it would have easily been Youngmin he'd mistaken him for.

Baekhyun sounded hollow and he knew it. _“I love you too, Chanyeol. The kids will call you.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 👉🏻👈🏻 ... Happy Holidays?
> 
> WORKING ON THE NEXT PART DONT WORRY


	46. Extra: The Bump In The Road (Pt. 2)

“Sh, go to bed. Go to bed, babies.” Baekhyun curled up between the twins and brought them closer to his chest, but they were both inconsolable.

It was three in the morning, and it was already going horrible when he'd carried Kyungsoo out to the car and the boy had groggily asked where _daddy_ was.

Baekhyun swore Chanyeol looked like he was going to argue, but instead he didn’t say a thing and watched them drive off from the doorway. 

Then, Junmyeon and Minseok were _pissed_ to say the least, the both of them half asleep and taking one look at Baekhyun’s chin to pull him inside.

It was too late to explain, so Baekhyun brushed them off and accepted a bandaid to his chin but just kept being adamant about getting the boys to bed.

Bed which apparently entailed them both squeezing into the guest room with him despite the fact the kids had a shared room here. 

“Mommy…” Jongin whined, a little hand pressing to his cheek, “Mommy is hurt.” 

“Will… will mommy and daddy be forever mad?” Kyungsoo asked with wide, confused eyes, sitting up despite Baekhyun trying to keep him down so he’d grow tired. 

“Daddy was mean to mommy! He gave him this owy!” The larger of the two twins claimed with an angry frown, sitting himself up.

Baekhyun sighed and heard Kyungsoo begin to blubber. He wished Jongin would filter himself but the twins were like two peas in a pod and if one knew something then the other did too. 

“Jongin, he didn’t. Stop saying that,” He whispered, shifting to sit up and reach for the side table lamp, “I hurt myself. Chanyeol didn’t hurt me at all.” 

_Only my feelings._

“But!” Jongin cried with an upset hand flopping, “Daddy was yelling!”

“I was yelling too, we thought you were sleeping.” 

“Mommy said daddy isn’t our real daddy, a _fake_ daddy.” 

Baekhyun _stiffened_ like a pole. Body wracking with a silent sob he tugged Kyungsoo into his lap and pet his hair hoping he'd calm down.

Kyungsoo wouldn’t calm down though, he knew that he was sensitive and Jongin being upset made him upset and it didn’t help that they were _all_ upset. 

Of course they were going to tell the twins. When they were older and more capable of being able to understand the extent and reasons and how _good_ of a dad Chanyeol had always been to them.

At that point it would have been a family talk, answering questions and explaining, and they hoped by then the twins would be okay with it, because Chanyeol was the only father they’d ever known and they bonded with him amazingly.

Now, it was Baekhyun crying and stuck against the bedframe trying to muffle his tears because he hated for the twins to see them. 

Some _parent_ he was.

“Chanyeol is your dad, don’t say that stuff,” Baekhyun scolded, swallowing hard and petting Jongin's hair out of his eyes whilst Kyungsoo curled into his chest with shaking cries. “He just…” 

How could someone explain this to two little kids? Baekhyun felt _stupid._ He couldn’t even explain this to his kids without shaking and he needed to in order for them to understand.

“Okay,” He whispered, “I’m going to tell you something, a big secret! Super big, and then we aren’t talking about this ever again, okay? Do you understand me?” 

It wasn’t fair. He knew if the twins asked about their real dad then he’d answer, it was way better if they’d ask him rather than Chanyeol because Baekhyun wasn’t exactly sure how much Chanyeol would hold back about how horrible a father Youngmin would have been.

Nothing graphic of course. He would _never_ tell the twins about his domestic abuse, but he had very much to say about how Youngmin was in prison and Baekhyun didn’t really want the kids to know that at this age, they didn’t really understand the concept of prison - they just knew it was for bad people.

And Baekhyun didn’t want them to think because their blood father was bad that it made them bad, but maybe he was just freaking out and overthinking everything.

“Your other… parent was a very mean man,” Baekhyun mumbled, bringing a finger to touch the bandaid on his chin, “Very angry. He was very mean to mommy, he gave mommy owys like this-“

 _“Like daddy?”_ Jongin commented with a firm nod, a scowl on his small face and crossing his arms, “I’ll protect mommy from daddy.” 

Baekhyun outright _sobbed,_ the noise escaped his throat before he could stop it and he threw a hand over his lips.

“M-Me too!” Kyungsoo cried weakly, reaching over Baekhyun’s lap to hug Jongin, “I’ll protect mommy _too, Nini!”_

“No, no. You- I-“ Baekhyun stumbled and had no idea how to react. He was touched, overwhelmed that the twins would even say something like that when he _really_ didn’t want them to. They didn’t understand. “Chanyeol _didn’t_ hurt mommy. Daddy didn’t hurt me, _I_ hurt me, don’t….” _Don't stand up for me… don’t say stuff like that…_ Baekhyun didn’t know what to say.

It hurt that they’d be so quick to think so badly of Chanyeol, but he didn’t know exactly how things looked from Jongin's eyes, and Kyungsoo trusted whatever his brother saw. 

“Listen,” Baekhyun sniffled and shifted his legs out from under Kyungsoo to turn and face the both of them, “Daddy loves _you both_ so, so much. And daddy loves mommy _so_ much, and just because we were fighting doesn’t mean daddy is bad. 

This owy was _not_ from daddy, okay? Mommy had a fall and it wasn’t Chanyeol’s fault. You love him and he loves _both_ of his little boys no matter what. Chanyeol has _always_ been your dad, and just because you guys know a little more than before doesn’t mean anything changes. I love all of my family and we’re _still_ going to be a family. Always.” 

“B… But… mommy?” Kyungsoo shuffled to raise his head up and look at him with bloodshot eyes, “Does daddy love Mimi too?” 

“Of _course_ he does. Of course, baby,” Baekhyun soothed, grabbing his hand to press a kiss onto it with a smile, “He loves Jangmi and she’s fine with daddy. First thing tomorrow you can call and talk to them both, okay?” 

Kyungsoo nodded a little bit, but Baekhyun saw his eyes filling with tears and the boy began to sniffle even before he got words out. “D-Daddy must… love M-Mimi _more_ since she’s his _real_ baby!” He wailed, crying so loud Baekhyun knew his brother would be up and at the door in minutes. 

_“R-Really?”_ Jongin's little mouth fell open and then within a second he was releasing a loud cry of his own, “I w-wanna be his real baby _too!”_

Baekhyun began to sob just as bad as the twins, because it was unfair and he couldn’t find words to explain to them that _wasn’t_ the case at all, it just came out in a bunch of muffled _no- I- stop - We love you- don’t cry- I’m sorry-_

A useless effort when now all three of them were crying when the door swung open and Minseok and Junmyeon blinked tiredly at all of them. 

_“Jun!”_ Baekhyun wailed, climbing off of the bed with shaking knees, “What did I _do!”_

“Holy _shit- Baek-“_

Baekhyun passed out right before making it to his brother for a hug, collapsing weightlessly on Junmyeons chest. 

***

_“-motherfucker. I swear to god I should come fuck you up. What the absolute fuck, you promised me! And I believed you, and you lied, Chanyeol! Now the twins think you’ve hurt Baekhyun and I can’t even tell them you didn’t - because you did! I know he’s said some things to you too, but I thought you really understood your words and actions! You can’t just speak to a domestic abuse v-!”_

“Mommy?” 

Baekhyun lifted his head away from the back door, quickly turning to steer Kyungsoo by his shoulders away from the door, “What's up, baby owl?”

The child smiled a big, happy smile, but it didn’t help that it didn’t reach his eyes and he looked tired due to events last night, lifting a race car to his cheek. “Look! Uncles are here!” 

“Oh that’s _great…”_ He drawled fakely, “Come here, baby,” Baekhyun added, snatching Kyungsoo up because he could hear Junmyeon getting louder out back.

He'd _told_ Junmyeon not to bother with it, but his brother heard what he wanted and that demand went in one ear and out the other.

Kyungsoo giggled and grabbed his neck, pressing his little face into his collarbone. “They gonna give us clothes!”

“They _are_ going to give us clothes,” Baekhyun both corrected and agreed, “My babies need some more clothes.” 

“Do you think Mimi has new clothes too?” 

Baekhyun cringed a bit and soothed a hand over Kyungsoo's Spider-Man pajamas he was still in from last night, Jangmi didn’t _need_ new clothes when she was still at home with a closet full of them.

God he missed his little girl already, and the twins did too.

“Sure, Soo.” He said, playfully groaning and adjusting him onto his side better. 

Not as big as Jongin, but still way too big to be carried around. Baekhyun didn’t give a fuck, if he wanted to baby his boys then he _would._

Baekhyun carried him into the living room and instantly felt overwhelmed at the strained smile Sehun sent him, like he had something to say but was restraining himself.

“Soo, let’s choose out some clothes for you!” Luhan cried dramatically, “Let uncle dress you up before we have to go!”

 _“Okay!”_ Kyungsoo squealed and shimmied down Baekhyun’s legs like a little snake.

It’d been a long time since he was uncomfortable with any of them, but he couldn’t help to shuffle awkwardly because he knew how bad he looked right now. 

“Hey, sunshine.” 

Baekhyun gasped and laughed softly when Yixing came up behind him and pinched his ear. It was rare that he could spare the time to come see them, and that both made Baekhyun guilty and upset because he had been out of town for work the past month.

He wondered if Yixing came all the way back when he’d heard. 

“When did you get back?” 

Yixing laughed, “Two days ago, I was planning to come see the kids yesterday, but Chanyeol was busy and.. _yeah.”_

“Yeah,” Baekhyun licked his lips and smiled shortly, “I’m guessing you want to talk?” 

“Yeah. Let’s do that, Baek.” 

Baekhyun _knew_ the outlook would be different. They were all friends for years, and they _did_ know about his past because it was so difficult to hide any of the shit that was going on with Youngmin in the past, but he preferred it to be Yixing to speak to over the others.

Only because Yixing was very attentive.

“I’ll be back, babies.” Baekhyun said quietly, although it went mostly unheard because the twins were busy digging through the bags of stuff the others brought.

He knew Chanyeol must have sent them to give them stuff, because there were some things from the house and some things were brand new.

Maybe the trio had just felt bad and picked up some things on the way even though they knew the twins had plenty of toys here.

Baekhyun twisted his lips and turned to look at the back door as he took a seat at the dining table.

Their breakfast was still on the table because he hadn’t been in the mood to eat - still wasn’t. 

“Your chin?” 

“I tripped, smacked it on the dresser in our room when we were fighting.” Baekhyun whispered, bringing his feet up into his chair with him although he always told the kids to sit properly at the table.

Yixing hummed softly and leaned on the counter across from the table. “Yeah, Chanyeol said he scared the shit out of you.” 

Baekhyun pulled his lip between his teeth, unsure if he should agree or disagree. A part of him wanted to stick up for his husband. 

They _never_ argued like this before, and Chanyeol had never scared him like this either. 

He decided not to say anything and instead twist his ring around his finger.

“He _also_ said that Jongin hates him. I mean, not that I’m the most amazing with kids - pretty sure you have that title with your little army of them - but Jongin doesn’t understand. He’s little, he was probably just worried.” 

Baekhyun pursed his lips and pressed his tongue to the inside of his cheek for a moment, “I was so.. _I_ must have scared Jongin so much, I mean… I don’t know why he was up, and we _were_ pretty loud but not loud enough to wake the kids. Chanyeol just looked so mad.. and he was… he was saying things that _he_ used to say and I was _waiting_ for it - I-I had half a thought to shove him but I… then I would be _just_ as bad.

Chanyeol and I don’t… we don’t touch each other badly like that, we don’t hurt each other, but I _really_ thought he was going to…” 

“Sunshine, I’m going to say this with the _most_ concern _ever,_ for you and you _only,_ Baekhyun. Regardless about what’s happened, okay?” Yixing leaned off the counter to pet his hair from his eyes, “You should get some therapy, and I mean that in the most concerned way. I mean, holy _shit,_ everything you’ve been through and then all you have been doing is piling things on to distract yourself. Now that you’re on break, the kids don’t need you quite as much, and Jangmi is all about talking to herself… Baek, I’m not disagreeing and saying whether or not anyone is right in this situation, but I _am_ going to say that maybe you have too much time on your hands, and you’re thinking too _much_ about unresolved issues.” 

Yesterday, these things would have made Baekhyun feel on edge, defensive - angry.

But he really had no fight left today and he couldn’t help but _agree._

Baekhyun pressed a hand to his temple and breathed hard through his nose as his eyes got glassy. But before he could respond the back door was opening and Junmyeon was walking in with a hard scowl. 

“He wants to talk to you now.” 

Baekhyun was surprised his brother was even suggesting as much, he’d heard him ripping into Chanyeol though, “Okay.” 

“I’ll see you later, Baek. Call if you guys need anything,” Yixing said shortly and was quick to take an exit when Baekhyun grabbed his phone from the table.

“You tell me and I’ll hit him,” Junmyeon said harshly as he began to follow, pressing a hand to Baekhyun’s hair shortly.

It wasn’t exactly reassuring, Baekhyun didn’t want to hit Chanyeol and didn’t want anyone to be mad at him either. 

He probably felt bad enough if his phone nonstop vibrating said much. 

This time Baekhyun actually picked it up, it was a FaceTime call and he didn’t really want to _see_ him, but answered anyway.

_“- that's right, Jangmi! We can see him real quick and then-“_

“Hey.” Baekhyun said hoarsely, face brightening up because it _wasn’t_ Chanyeol on the screen even if it was his voice. “Hi ladybug! Are we taking a nap? Look at you, my sweet girl!”

Jangmi was dressed head to toe in a yellow onesie laying in her crib, bottle held in her own hands but she gurgled it back and startled at his voice, eyes shooting to look around.

“Mama is on the phone!” Baekhyun laughed wetly and rubbed his palm over his watery eyes, “I hope you’re having a fun time and don’t miss brothers too much, Mimi will see us very soon. I love you, sleepy baby.” 

_“Does that mean you’re coming back home?”_

Baekhyun hadn’t even thought that far yet, it’d been not even twenty four hours. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, “I haven’t even considered that yet, Chanyeol.” 

A heavy sigh sounded on the other end before Chanyeol's arm entered the screen to pet Jangmi’s forehead, _“Sh, get some sleep, princess.”_

Baekhyun didn’t bother speaking up, he just brought his knees under his chin and chewed on his nail as he set his phone up against a cup. 

It was weird watching Chanyeol put Jangmi to bed without being there, like he was the outsider there. 

If anything, thinking about it just made him feel somewhat… _tired,_ for no real reason other than he had gotten barely any sleep. 

It was a few minutes of watching the two before suddenly Chanyeol was moving his phone and bringing it with him out of the baby’s room. 

Baekhyun still didn’t speak up, he really had nothing to say but to press his cheek against his knee and watch Chanyeol set up his phone against something before he was met with his husband taking a seat on their bed, leaning on his knees silently. 

_“How’s your chin?”_

“It’s okay.”

 _“That’s good, baby. I’m glad, I’m -“_ Chanyeol cleared his throat a handful of times and ran the palms of his hands over his pajamas like he was ridding himself of nerves. _“I’m s-so sorry..”_ His voice cracked and Baekhyun cringed away, digging his face in his knees.

He didn’t want Chanyeol to cry. He _never_ wanted him to cry, it always seemed so much more painful when someone so strong cried.

“Don’t cry.” Baekhyun requested, pressing his sleeve to his lips, “Chanyeol, please don’t cry. I just want some time.”

_“That’s what e-everyone says, and then… next thing I know I’m - g-gonna get a divorce paper and the boys aren’t going to-“_

“Stop it!” Baekhyun cried, “I’m just _upset,_ I still love you! The twins love you. Stop it, just _stop.”_ He sucked in a deep breath and pressed his forehead onto his fist, “Please stop.” 

_“I- I…”_ Chanyeol swallowed so loud Baekhyun could hear the slight clear of his throat, _“Saw the news. Earlier. The- someone must have seen you leave because they’re talking about us splitting. I-I just… be safe, Baekhyun. I w-want you all safe and… god I can’t believe- did I really hurt you? I… I swear, I was so tired I didn’t even… realize and then Jongin had those angry eyes and I…. I j-just love you so m-much. So much.”_

“Mama!” 

Baekhyun shifted and jumped to turn his head as the kitchen door was shoved open, he knew the twins loved to mess with the door since it was on wheels, and Jongin had a big smile on his face. “Mama, I got a puppy shirt!” 

He saw Chanyeol shift to turn his head off screen and knew he was trying to clean up his face.

“How cute, baby, come here.” Baekhyun cooed, pulling the leg of a chair closer to his own, “Daddy is on the phone.” 

_“Oh.”_ Was all Jongin mumbled, but his smile dimmed and he sort of slumped into Baekhyun’s side, “Daddy. You can’t be mean to mommy okay?” He said seriously, bottom lip sticking out.

A choked noise sounded before Chanyeol leaned back into view, a hat pulled on his head that cast a shadow on his face.

It would be cute, seeing him dressed in pajamas and this random cap on his head, if only it wasn’t to hide his tears from the kids. _“I’m not going to be mean to mommy ever again, Nini Bear. Never. Uncle Jun told daddy all about what he said wrong and yelled and yelled at daddy! Like we do you when you try to get into cookies without asking!”_

That made the child giggle a bit and Baekhyun smiled at the noise and turned his head to press a kiss to his hair. “Okay, daddy!”

Little footsteps sounded and Baekhyun twisted his head to eye Kyungsoo trying to stand on his toes and grab a plastic cup off the counter. “Baby, you want to come here for a second?” 

The wide eyed five year old didn’t even look at him. “No thanks, I don’t wanna see Chanyeol.” 

Baekhyun’s eyes went huge and he twisted to check his phone and found Chanyeol looking _so_ confused. _“Who is that? Was that Kyungsoo? Was that- why? Why - K-Kyung- Baekhyun why is he saying that?”_

“Don’t be mean to daddy, and don’t call him that!” Baekhyun scolded, eyes filling with guilty tears because he could _hear_ Chanyeol’s voice getting wet, “Get your butt over here.” 

“Daddy be’s mean to me too!” Kyungsoo screamed, an angry face on as he started sulking over.

_Fuck._

He heard Chanyeol begin to cry harder and sucked his lip between his teeth as he pulled Kyungsoo onto his lap, “Daddy is not mean to you, Soo.” 

_“Is too!”_ The boy cried, pressing an angry fist down to the table and refusing to look at the phone as he held Baekhyun’s neck like a koala, even though the man was trying to get him to let go, “Daddy had Mimi only! So he loves Mimi more and that’s _mean!”_

“Mommy… that _is_ mean…” Jongin whispered.

_“Boys -“_

Baekhyun watched Chanyeol not even be able to breathe, he leaned over his lap and tossed the hat off his head to clutch his hair. He’d _never_ seen Chanyeol look like he was having a mental breakdown in their years of being together. 

It felt like he was swallowing glass when he gulped. “Boys, daddy loves you both so much. He doesn’t love Jangmi anymore than he loves either of you.” 

“Then.. how come daddy didn’t have me and Soo!” Jongin whimpered, tugging his pants over his toes, “Mama, I want daddy to have me and Soo _too.”_

Chanyeol legitimately sobbed, it sounded wet and scratchy, his head was down but Baekhyun could picture how swollen his eyes would be. 

He could imagine how hard Chanyeol was swiping at his face under his hair. 

They were just _kids,_ they didn’t understand, and yet Baekhyun didn’t know how to explain _anything_ to them. Chanyeol had done so much for them and he really was the only dad they’d ever known and would _ever_ know, but sometimes kids said things they didn’t understand.

They digested things differently than adults did, unable to really comprehend to what extent things went. 

Chanyeol not being their real dad was just something in _fine print,_ it didn’t truly matter, it was basically hidden and pushed to the side just like how the man deserved it to be. But to the twins they connected the dots - and it led to fast conclusions.

If it wasn’t their real dad then how could Chanyeol love them equally?

“Daddy _does._ Chanyeol is your dad,” Baekhyun said firmly, holding tears back because they couldn’t _both_ be crying, “I’m sorry, okay? I’m _sorry_ and I wish Chanyeol had you both _too,_ god knows I would have…” He shook his head and brought Kyungsoo into his chest more, “But mommy can’t _change_ things. Nothing changed - daddy loves _you both,_ he loves Jangmi, he loves me, and we can _all_ love each other without competing. You’re _Chanyeol’s_ babies just as much as you are mine.” 

Neither twin spoke up, but that was likely because Jongin was flopping off his chair and storming out of the room with fast legs and shaking shoulders. 

Baekhyun heard a door slam down the hall and breathed heavily as he tossed his head back against his seat and pet Kyungsoo's head. “Can you go get one of your uncles, Soo?” 

“... daddy?” Kyungsoo whispered, shifting to press his cheek on the table and pointing a finger at his phone, “Mommy, daddy is sad.”

“I know.” Baekhyun sighed and shifted the boy off his lap with a hand on his back and gathered his phone, “Go see uncles.” 

Kyungsoo trailed after him for a good few steps before Baekhyun sent him a _do what I said_ look and the child turned around with a huff to run into the living room.

Baekhyun didn’t say a word until he was in the guest room, not finding Jongin in here he knew the boy ran to the kids room and sighed as he climbed into bed. 

“They don’t mean it, Chan,” Baekhyun whispered, placing the phone in front of his face as he laid on his side to look at it, “Breathe, babe, I love you. I love you and the _twins love you,_ we love you. Just breathe. It’s going to be okay.” 

For a second Baekhyun thought Chanyeol muted himself because there was no noise at all, only a black screen from a palm blocking it before it moved and Baekhyun could hear shuffling around.

Chanyeol was laying down just like him, only his nose was running, his brows were scrunched together with tears falling down his face, _“Did I not love them enough, Baekhyun?”_

“You love them _more_ than enough,” Baekhyun whispered, pressing a hand on his temple because he could feel a headache coming, probably from trying to hold back tears. “They’re just confused right now, you know that, they’re young and don’t understand.”

_“How can I love them better?”_

Baekhyun’s lips pulled into a frown, “Chanyeol, please. Don't take it to heart, you’re the only dad they've ever had. Just because… they say things doesn’t mean they mean them, all they know right now is that mommy and daddy are fighting and that they haven’t seen you in days, they’re drawing conclusions because Jangmi sees you now and they don’t.” 

Chanyeol didn’t respond, he just covered his face with a hand and began to stutter a few sentences with sobs.

“Sh, babe, don’t cry… sh, let’s just take a nap.” Baekhyun whimpered, “Let's take a nap and we can talk more later. Promise.” 

_“Don’t hang up p-please.”_

“I wasn’t planning to. I’m not hanging up, Chanyeol. Just go to sleep, baby. I’ll keep talking to you until you go to sleep.” 

_“I-I love you.”_

“I love you _too._ Twice as much, handsome. Let’s take a short break and see each other very soon, okay? I’m not leaving you. I’m not, I love you so much, Chanyeol. The boys love their daddy too.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will probably have 4 or 5 parts, so don’t be too sad, okay? They love each other still!!
> 
> Also! I’m not sure if it was really clear, but a lot of what Baekhyun was feeling in the last chapter was because he put himself into the mindset of how things were when he was with Youngmin - the panic, the fear. That still doesn’t mean Chanyeol wasn’t wrong though, they both made mistakes. They were both upset, they aren’t perfect, especially Chanyeol even though in the story he seemed that way! I’ve been discussing it on Twitter if you’d like to go see what we’ve been talking about, or to send me a question ♥️


	47. Extra: The Bump In The Road (Pt.3)

It took three days for Baekhyun to agree to seeing Chanyeol in person. 

Not just because the kids wanted to see him and Jangmi or because he wanted to see his little girl either - because he _really_ did want to see her too - but because he needed to talk to Chanyeol.

The truth was he _loved_ Chanyeol. They were married, had a growing family, Baekhyun didn’t want them to have to be strained forever.

He didn’t want to be that couple that switched kids off every weekend and had to pack clothes everytime they were going to their other parents house.

Even if Baekhyun had money now - and he did, very much money - he didn’t want his own house, he wanted to live at home where he knew Chanyeol accidentally forgot to put clean towels in the kids bathroom and sometimes left a mess of paper trails all the way into his office. 

_“Daddy!”_

And Baekhyun really, really liked to hear that. The squeaky and shrill cry from the twins. 

He was leaning against the front door, hands folded over his stomach and nervously petting that area of his sweater as he watched the twins go zooming off towards the parked car. 

They spoke on the phone _everyday._ Chanyeol hadn’t been going to work, because sometimes when he was talking to Baekhyun the smaller could see his computer open with documents pulled up and waiting to be read. 

It didn’t matter though, because he never worked on them when he was talking to Baekhyun or the boys, and it felt _good._

The twins, just like Baekhyun expected, sort of gave up on holding their grudge the second they came crying to call daddy and talk to him, but he knew it would be something they would need to work on. 

It was something they couldn’t really pretend never happened. The twins _knew,_ and in no way did they want them to think themselves worth less than Jangmi.

“Don’t go in the street,” Baekhyun spoke up, walking down the steps, before taking his lip between his teeth when Chanyeol climbed out of the car. 

Four days was a very long time for them not to see each other. Baekhyun always got to see Chanyeol at bed, even if he was passed out, and if he was gone first thing in the morning. 

But four days of talk over FaceTime didn’t feel like they’d seen each other in a while.

Baekhyun pushed the twins back to open the backseat and grinned brightly at the chocolate eyes of his one year old and her little hand shaking her rattle. 

_“Daddy! Daddy!”_ The twins cried nonstop behind him.

“Hi, ladybug!” Baekhyun giggled and leaned down to unbuckle her and Jangmi squealed rather excitedly, flailing her arms so hard the toy went flying across the car and kicking her legs. 

_“Mama!”_

“My pretty girl! Are you so _excited!”_ He cried, giggling and pressing a kiss to her head. She had tiny braids in and he was honestly impressed everytime Chanyeol did them because he was horrible at doing Jangmi’s hair. “‘Mommy is happy to see you too! Look at you, daddy dressed you all pretty to see mommy, brothers, and uncles! My sweet rose.”

Jangmi began to press wet kisses to his cheek and Baekhyun probably looked ridiculous giggling and getting slobbered on as he turned to shut the car door with his hip.

Probably not as ridiculous as the sight of Chanyeol kneeling down and trying to squeeze both the twins tight. 

“- and I’m going to have a long talk with both of you later, okay? After dinner we’re going to talk before daddy goes home. But right now I want a million hugs, I owe my boys a million and one hugs.” 

“Okay, daddy. Look! I have a pi’ture for you!” Kyungsoo muffled into his coat.

Baekhyun sighed a breath of relief, he knew the twins would be okay after calming down, but at this point it was more about the pain that their words had caused that upset him.

Chanyeol would never forget it.

“Mwah!” Jangmi giggled and pressed a little hand to his cheek, gaining his attention with a happy, boxy smile and round eyes, “Mama _mwah mwah!”_

“I love you _too,_ babygirl,” Baekhyun laughed and walked over to take a seat on the cement step in front of the house.

It wasn’t his business what Chanyeol was talking to the boys about, the man probably had a whole list of things to say. 

“Mama’s princess!” Baekhyun giggled and set her on his knees to kiss her nose, petting over her little back, “I hope you were good for daddy, were you good? I’m sure you were, baby.”

 _“Babababa!”_ Jangmi babbled and squealed to herself, kicking her little feet around on Baekhyun’s thighs. 

He hummed to her story while holding her teeny jacket shut and smiling at her outfit.

Chanyeol must have wanted her to look _extra_ cute to see him, and it showed in her ballerina top and stretchy pants, she’d start whining for her boots and jacket off in a bit, but for now she looked happy to babble all her stories to him.

“Mommy missed you.” Baekhyun whispered, bringing her head to his lips to kiss the bunch of baby hairs curling up on her forehead. “I hope you didn’t give daddy too hard of a time, but my baby is sweet so I don’t think you did, baby rose.” 

_“Baek.”_

Baekhyun twisted his neck to look at the front door, Minseok was chewing his lip and looking reluctant as he stepped out and put his arms out, “You should go talk and we’ll get started on dinner.” 

Baekhyun wanted to argue that he _just_ got Jangmi. That he wanted to hold her for a bit longer, but he had all dinner to see her.

A dinner that was probably going to be full of Junmyeon glaring at Chanyeol across the table and his husband clearing his throat awkwardly and focusing on the twins rather than evil eyes in his temple.

Junmyeon loved Chanyeol. That wasn’t the problem at all, the issue was that Junmyeon just so happened to _really_ love Chanyeol, they went shopping together, took the twins fishing, and met up for lunch on workdays. 

He’d _trusted_ him, but Baekhyun felt like it was somewhat his fault, because he never told Junmyeon that they had some small disagreements in the past, if it wasn’t big like this then he didn’t want to tell anyone.

His brother had just thought they were _perfect_ together, and it wasn’t far from the truth. In the aspect of trust and love, they were perfect. Baekhyun would go as far as to say him and Chanyeol were _soulmates_ even. 

But that didn’t mean soulmates didn’t make mistakes.

Junmyeon was really disappointed, and Baekhyun knew some of that was aimed at him too, for not telling him his worries, but he’d rather have that than Chanyeol and Junmyeon going head to head, although he knew his husband would take whatever was thrown at him by his brother to a certain extent.

Baekhyun didn’t want to learn when Chanyeol’s breaking point was, because he didn’t want it to get that far.

“Mommy will be back for ladybug after a nap!” Baekhyun cooed, pressing a dramatically loud kiss to Jangmi’s cheek, “It’s okay! You can play with your brothers for a little!” 

“Call me if you want me to pick you up,” Minseok said softly, under his breath as he accepted the baby, “You know, just don’t call Jun.” 

Baekhyun snickered and nodded although he didn’t _need_ the reassurance, this was Chanyeol they were talking about.

The man that nearly beat his ex’s face in with guards watching their every move - he wouldn’t let him get hurt.

He wouldn’t make mistakes like this again.

“Boys! Come inside before you get sick!” Baekhyun called, crossing his arms over his stomach.

He could practically see the whine forming on their little faces, but Chanyeol shook his head at them and whispered and looked too handsome for his own good.

Baekhyun sighed and stood up as the twins came over with small pouts, “Daddy will be back. Don’t worry.” 

“I wanna play games when daddy gets back…” Jongin sulked, pressing his forehead into Baekhyun’s leg, “When can we go home, mommy?” 

Instead of answering, Baekhyun leaned down to kiss his hair and shooed him to follow his brother inside, closing his eyes to take a deep breath as the front door closed with a soft _click._

And then, it was just them, standing in the cold.

Chanyeol was dressed adorably, almost like he was wearing everything he knew Baekhyun liked. A leather jacket, a plain black sweatshirt, dark jeans, so plain yet he looked so handsome. 

He shuffled, hands stuffed in his pockets like he was having a hard time finding words, “You look pretty.” 

Baekhyun released a heavy, awkward breath, it was so odd that they were acting like teenagers experiencing their first date when they were _married._

 _“Chanyeol.”_ He laughed under his breath and found his feet flying before he could think twice, the frosted grass under his feet crunching as he walked through it to toss himself around his husband's waist.

Chanyeol was always very warm, and on a cold day like today Baekhyun wanted nothing more than to leech on him. 

_“Baby,”_ Chanyeol sighed into his hair, arms encasing his shoulders and head as he kissed at his hair, “Did you get even prettier?” 

Baekhyun laughed teary eyed, pressing his nose into Chanyeol’s collarbone and breathing in his cologne, “Heavy on the pickup lines already?” 

“What can I say? You’re the _most_ beautiful person I’ve ever met, Baekhyun.” 

The butterflies in his belly overwhelmed him, filling in the anxiety in his stomach with a ton of fond feelings. 

Baekhyun pulled back with a sniff, rubbing his sleeve on his cold nose and brushing his fingers over his eyes to make sure he wasn’t crying, “Let’s find a place to talk, Yeol.” 

Chanyeol nodded, face not giving away anything but he did grab Baekhyun’s chin softly, gently lifting his head and looking at the small scab underneath it.

“I’m okay.” 

“Sure. But it’s not okay.” Chanyeol whispered, fingers moving to drift over his ear before leaning over to press a kiss to his mouth, breathing a moment against his lips, “We shouldn’t leave the area in case you get scared, sweetheart.” 

Baekhyun’s eyes flickered open guiltily, bringing a hand to scratch comfortingly at the nape of Chanyeol's neck, “I’m not. Let’s just go talk, okay? I’m not scared of you. I don’t think I was… I think.. it was a bit much, but let’s have a talk and sort things out.” 

Chanyeol kissed his lips more firmly before stepping back completely with a small nod, “Okay, whatever you want to do, my love.” 

He opened the passenger door for him, and waited for Baekhyun to buckle up by messing with the heaters in the car and tossing one of Jangmi’s toys into the backseat as opposed to the doll sitting on the center console.

Baekhyun laughed because he knew how difficult Jangmi could be about wanting to play in the car, throwing things all over when her brothers weren’t there to pay attention to her in the backseat. 

But other than a swift pass of his hand through Baekhyun’s hair, they didn’t interact in the car.

Not because it was awkward or because there was a lot of tension, but because Baekhyun wanted to have his full attention when they spoke. 

And maybe Chanyeol was just too nervous to even say a thing.

“Do you recognize this place?” 

Baekhyun hummed and twisted to look out his window, frowning as he looked at the street while Chanyeol tried to find parking, “No, babe. Am I supposed to?” 

“I mean, it _is_ the place we had our first date,” Chanyeol chuckled awkwardly, “A different cafe took over though, so it looks much nicer. They really cleaned this place up the past few years.” 

An understatement, because Baekhyun couldn’t even recognize the street at all, just raising his brows as Chanyeol found a parking space, “Really? Wow. It used to be such-“

 _“Shit.”_ Chanyeol supplied with a snicker, “Let’s see if they have better coffee than the other place,” He snorted.

Baekhyun giggled and turned to look into the backseat to rifle through the pile of spare clothes, fiddling as he heard Chanyeol turn off the car.

He snatched a purple hoodie off the top, tossing it over his sweater and found it reached his knees. 

Chanyeol had too many clothes he didn’t even know what his husband owned at this point, but he laughed as he climbed out and was drowned in the hoodie.

“You don’t have to be this cute you know,” Chanyeol complained with a smile, offering a hand that Baekhyun took in an instant, huddling in his side because he couldn’t even recall where this cafe was. 

“There’s no such rule that says I can’t be cute.” 

“There should be when it’s doing bad things to my heart.” 

“Ah, maybe you need to see a doctor, Chan.” Baekhyun giggled and brought their hands up to press a kiss to the gold band on his husband's finger, “That doesn’t sound too good.” 

Chuckling, Chanyeol yanked open the cafe door after their short walk there, releasing his hand to press a palm against Baekhyun’s spine. “You’re sassy when you need coffee.” He teased, wrapping an arm around the smallers back to tug him into his side as they stood in line.

“Oh,” Baekhyun scrunched his nose up and eyed the menu signs, “I’ve already had my coffee for the day, I can’t have anymore.” 

“Since when did my little caffeine addict care about limiting coffee?” Chanyeol laughed and pressed a few kisses below his ear.

Baekhyun smiled and felt his cheeks pinken, chewing his lips and instead of answering he pointed a finger to a booth in the corner and stood on his toes to press a kiss to Chanyeol’s jaw. “I’m gonna go sit down. Get me something with no caffeine, please.” 

“Leave me to do the hard work I see.” 

Baekhyun laughed at his antics and squeezed his arm before strolling over to the booth with a heavy breath.

He had a list of things they needed to discuss, and it felt pathetic to admit as much, but he’d stayed up really late typing them out so he wouldn’t forget. 

It was hard to not want to just pretend to forget when he felt so at home with Chanyeol.

But he had a lot of regrets he needed to verbalize, it wasn’t all Chanyeol’s fault.

Baekhyun felt like that day he’d slipped into a rabbit hole and been caged in by walls when Chanyeol was saying those things to him. If he was _any other_ person that wasn’t so scared of confrontation he knew what Chanyeol had been saying would have simply been an argument and that was _all._

But Baekhyun wasn’t, so he’d been scared that day, but he wasn’t scared of Chanyeol.

So maybe they’d both gone to extremes. 

“I got you a banana muffin. Hot chocolate doesn’t go against your _I can’t have coffee_ agenda, so drink up before you become a popsicle, cupcake.” 

Baekhyun giggled and tucked his hands around the warm cup instantly, watching Chanyeol settle on the other side of the booth, digging in a little plastic bag. 

“I grabbed a few for the twins, have they been eating well? I know Jongin can be picky when he doesn’t get cereal for breakfast.”

“He threw a fit the other day because he tried to put eggs into the sink and pretended he ate them.” 

“That’s my boy.” 

Baekhyun snorted because he knew Chanyeol was kidding, brushing a strand of hair behind his ear before reaching over the table with a nervous lick of his lips and curling fingers under Chanyeol's palm, “That is _your boy.”_

Chanyeol's eyes suddenly went nervous, a shake to them as he tightened his hold on Baekhyun’s hand.

He opened his mouth to talk but instead just licked his lips and lowered his eyes. “I’m so sorry, Baek.”

“Shh, babe..” Baekhyun whispered softly, petting his thumb over his knuckles because Chanyeol was already near tears, eyes glazed over, “I know. I _know,_ baby. You have said so every single day, and I believe you, but I’m not going to pretend like this is all your fault. I… I was in my head..” 

He felt his throat dry up and used his other hand to brush his hand over his eye to rub the tears away, “I was… really worried, I mean… we had been arguing a bit, and then suddenly I felt like there was this… wall. I don’t know why - I-I don’t know how to explain it other than to say… _he_ was in my head and.. s-screaming. I was _fucking_ stuff up - I always _fuck_ up, that’s all I’m fucking good at - _being a_ fuck up. I’m a stupid, stupid bitch-“

“God I fucking hate this.” Chanyeol cried, his empty palm reaching over to cup Baekhyun’s face and brush tears off his cheek with an angry shake of his head, “I fucking hate him and I hate that you can’t help but think like this. And I _hate_ that you were too scared to tell me you felt this way. If anything, I should have been… been so much more careful… Baek, I d-don’t-“ His voice cracked brokenly, “I don’t want us apart, but… but I would rather be apart than have you think this way. If.. if you think you’d feel better separated t-then _fuck,_ who am I to argue that when I want what’s best for you? I would never. Never _ever_ want you to put me before yourself, baby. It- it’s gonna be hard, but if you feel even remotely better without me, then I won’t ever convince you otherwise.” 

Baekhyun’s lips trembled as he squeezed his eyes shut and bubbled with a sob, tilting his head down towards the table and it hurt more that Chanyeol just continued to pet his head to comfort him as if the man wasn’t hurting himself.

Chanyeol was such a hypocrite - telling him not to put his husband over himself when Chanyeol did it for him _all_ the fucking time.

“That’s not - _no,”_ Baekhyun cried, dragging Chanyeol’s hand closer to him and engulfing it in both of his hands, “I was… I was g-going to tell you that… that I’m gonna get some therapy, I-I need help. But I want you with me until the e-end, don’t… don't give up on me, Chanyeol.” 

“Do…you want to do like.. like couples therapy? I’m just..” Chanyeol sniffed, “I’m just trying to figure out what to do, I want… I want to make sure I never hurt you again.” 

_“Baby,”_ Baekhyun laughed wetly, the noise between a sob and a chuckle as he brought his husband's hand to his mouth to kiss a few times. “You are _not_ the problem. You’re not. I.. I want to learn to… deal with things from… from _then._ I love you. I love you so _much._ I need to deal with _myself,_ that’s the problem. I don’t… I don’t want to live like this - scared of scaring the kids, scared of having a breakdown again, scared of hurting my husband. I don’t want to be _scared_ every single time I have time to think alone. I think _too_ much, that’s what the real problem is.”

Who was he to even _deserve_ a man like Chanyeol? Someone so willing to change just to fix their family. But there was nothing _really_ broken. And to fix something there had to be something broken.

The only thing broken was Baekhyun’s mind when it was filled with memories of broken bottles, yelling, and strands of his own hair in his hands.

He felt like an old recording, one that played normally for a few minutes before it was met with missing pieces and began jumping scenes, making the screen go grey and fuzzy.

“Oh, why are you crying?” Baekhyun laughed as if he wasn’t crying too, pressing his feet to Chanyeol's beneath the table and squeezing his hand between his palms, “I know I said a lot of things, but from now on I’m going to try and ask for help instead of letting myself drown, okay? Oh, baby, cheer up - maybe I should’ve brought the boys to come hassle daddy when he gets upset.” He cooed, reaching across the table to grab Chanyeol’s chin and lift his head.

They were both the worst at hiding tears, but this whole experience made Baekhyun realize just how much Chanyeol hated to show tears, he always dropped his head or grabbed his face, hiding in his sleeve. 

“I _love_ you, Park Chanyeol.” Baekhyun said firmly, thumb petting over stubble beside Chanyeol’s mouth, “I love you, and the kids love you - all four of them. Well, three and a quarter I guess. God, I’m _really_ craving coffee again though, I think this monster wants to trick mommy into being bad.” 

Chanyeol didn’t react right away, he breathed loudly out of his nose and wiped his eyes on his sleeves before even processing.

“That’s it?” Baekhyun giggled and brushed hair from Chanyeol's forehead, leaning his elbows onto the table, “Nothing to say about the new baby bug?” 

_“Baby bug...”_ Chanyeol whispered underneath his breath wearing a frown before Baekhyun saw the twinkle of realization in his eyes as though Baekhyun hadn’t just admitted moments ago that he was carrying again.

He dropped his head onto his arms and Baekhyun both laughed and cooed at his shoulders shaking with cries, “Oh, _baby.._ Chanyeol, sh, you- you’re so fucking cute.” 

Baekhyun felt his eyes gloss over and giggled as he climbed out of his seat to walk around and push into Chanyeol’s booth with him, curling a hand around the inside of his knee and burying his head in the back of his neck.

“Not super far along, just about a month and a half, don’t worry.” 

Chanyeol sucked in a deep breath and sat back with his face covered in tears that Baekhyun cooed at and brushed his fingers over tear stained cheeks. “W-When did you find out?” 

“When I went on break,” Baekhyun said softly, “I was going to tell you… when you had time, but you didn’t… have time..” He trailed off a bit before shaking his head. 

There was a heavy silence before Baekhyun shook his head. Chanyeol was here _now,_ there was no reason to bring up something to fight over again. “What are you hoping for?” He smiled and pressed his nose into Chanyeol’s with a pretty beam, “I think it would be cute if we had two little girls, two little boys.” 

“I don’t care so long as he or she is healthy.” Chanyeol croaked, wrapping his arms around Baekhyun’s shoulders. 

Baekhyun literally felt his heart expand, grabbing his husband's face to peck his lips multiple times with a fond grin. “My _baby.”_

“You’re calling me that a lot today.” 

“Because you’re my baby,” Baekhyun pouted his lips against Chanyeol's mouth, giggling a bit and petting his hair, “And I haven’t seen you cry like this in so long. Makes me want to hold you.” 

Chanyeol sniffled but chuckled a deep noise as he curled arms around him and pressed his face into his neck. 

“You wanna go back and see the kids now?” The smaller mumbled into his hair.

“Baek?”

“Mhm?” 

“Do you think the twins are going to think… _that_ forever?”

Baekhyun cringed because he knew he was forgetting to address a topic, sitting back and curling hands over Chanyeol's thigh and pressing his face into his chest, “I think… you’ll show them you love them just as much and in a while things will be back to normal.” 

Chanyeol sighed, and Baekhyun knew it may sound like he was making less of the twins feelings - but he wasn’t. He genuinely felt that Chanyeol would do best showing the twins he loved them rather than sitting down to have a long conversation.

They were five, they really didn’t have the attention span to care about long talks like this, they would do much better with a ton of _I love you’s_ and short reassurances of his love for them.

“Maybe…” Baekhyun licked his lips and brought himself back with a worried look, “Maybe I should stay with Jun a bit longer, with the kids, and then you can come whenever you want and that way it would be more _special._ You’d have their attention more, you know, like when you’d spend days at work and come back and be their jungle gym… I think you could talk to them more that way, just for a few more days.” 

“You’re saying that because you want to stay with you brother, don’t you?” Chanyeol sighed, but not irritably, just a bit sad, leaning on his palm.

Baekhyun chewed his lips and brushed his fingers over Chanyeol's chest softly, “Don’t _worry._ I love you, we’re okay, baby. I just… I want to spend some time writing down some.. experiences to share with my therapist. And.. no offense, Chan, but you aren’t exactly the _best_ at simply listening calmly when I want to talk about getting black eyes.”

He meant it in the best of way though, he knew Chanyeol simply interrupted when he wanted to talk because he cared and the thought pissed him off.

But it was really difficult to think when Baekhyun _needed_ to dig for that bad stuff.

Chanyeol always tried to tell him not to think about it, but they both knew now all that did was shove it down further - but never deep enough not to be felt.

It was hard not to feel handprints in his skin and to not think of coughing blood, but Chanyeol was really good at making him not think of it. It just obviously only helped in the moment versus the long term though.

“Okay,” Chanyeol said quietly, kissing the shell of Baekhyun’s ear, “Can.. I see the kids whenever?”

“Of course, baby.”

“Can I see _you_ whenever?”

Giggling, Baekhyun wrapped his arms beneath Chanyeol's coat and snuggled in his chest, “My husband is so _cute_ \- of course, sweetheart.” 

Abruptly he felt his phone begin to vibrate in his pocket and twisted, still resting his side against Chanyeol as he pulled it out.

_Junmyeon:_

_You’re on the news right now, probably have a few minutes before the wolves run in._

Baekhyun groaned and sat up to show Chanyeol his phone, wrapping arms around his neck and pressing his head onto his husband, “Let’s run away.” 

“Let’s get caught making out in the car again.” 

Baekhyun snickered and playfully drifted a hand to brush over Chanyeol's front before giggling and climbing out of the booth, “You’re such a possessive man.” 

“It was _your_ idea last time,” Chanyeol laughed, placing Baekhyun’s untouched food into his bag and passing it to the smaller.

The carrier made a confused noise as Chanyeol started shrugging off his jacket until he was turning to put it around Baekhyun’s shoulders, “Let’s hurry to the car, sweetheart.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Off to write pt 4~


	48. Extra: The Bump In The Road (Pt.4)

_“- I don’t know, Baek. And then she threw up dinner and I feel like she’s way too warm, her temperature wasn’t high enough to go to the hospital, but I’m really worried.”_

“Oh, Chanyeol.” Baekhyun said worriedly, hurriedly pulling socks on. “I’m on my way, baby. I’ll be there in like… half hour.” 

_“Baek, you don’t need to, I just wanted to tell you that she was sick. I’m putting her to bed right this second, and she kept it down the second time I fed her.”_

“I’m coming to see my baby,” Baekhyun argued softly, “I’ll be there in a bit. I love you both, I’m on my way, babe.” 

Chanyeol sighed, but it sounded relieved, _“I love you more. I’ll see you when you get here, my love.”_

Baekhyun tossed his phone onto the bed and quickly leaned over to tug on his boots and grab his wallet.

He and Chanyeol had been keeping true to their agreement, just a few more days not living together, and he’d seen him every single day.

They’d taken the kids to the park yesterday, but it seems to be too cold for little Jangmi who apparently was sick today. 

_Fuck_ if Baekhyun wasn’t going to make sure his little girl was okay.

He knew it was good that the kids would get sick when young so they can build up their immune systems for the future, but it always gave him so much anxiety because in the past he hadn’t been able to afford the medicine he needed for the kids.

Now he could afford so much, but it didn’t lessen his anxiety.

“Boys!” Baekhyun stomped down the hallway with his keys jangling loudly in his hand, “I’m going to go see Jangmi for a little, okay? Be good for uncles.” 

The twins looked up from the dinner table, little frowns on their faces and he knew they would want to come too, but they would be fine staying here for once.

“Mommy is going to see about going and staying back at home tomorrow, okay?” He promised, leaning over to press kisses to their heads.

“So soon?” Junmyeon argued across the table, “That’s really sudden, Baekhyun.”

“It’s been over a week,” Minseok hissed at his own husband, smacking his arm, “Baekhyun’s an adult he knows what he’s doing.” 

_“You,”_ Baekhyun warned, pointing a finger at his brother, “Stop sending Chanyeol rude messages - and _no,_ he didn’t rat on you, I saw them yesterday. You act like he’s a villain, I told you I got in contact with a therapist and I start next week. It was _my_ fault too. You can’t always try to fight my fights for me, Jun.” 

His brother twisted his lips in obvious disapproval, but he sunk down into his seat with a sigh, “Better late than never right? I did horrible protecting my little brother back then, and now I’m just doing shit at it now?”

“I’m not naive anymore.” Baekhyun whispered, hugging Kyungsoo's shoulders, “And Chanyeol _isn’t_ anything like him, one fight doesn’t make him anything _close_ to him, Junmyeon. I love Chanyeol, you love Chanyeol too, and no matter how much you want to pretend to hate him you know that he’s amazing for me.” 

“Mommy, I want to go home soon!” Jongin whined loudly, “I miss my bears.” 

Baekhyun snickered, turning to press a kiss to his temple, “Okay. I’ll let daddy know to pull _all_ of Nini’s bears out and have a reunion.” 

“Me too, mommy.” 

Baekhyun laughed and pet some crumbs from Kyungsoo’s cheek before sitting back to grab a coat off the rack by the door, “Yes, Soo and his toys too, I love you all, I’ll be back tomorrow to help pack up.” 

***

Baekhyun arrived nearly an hour later due to traffic and the twins taking their time to say goodbyes because they were pouting.

He parked slightly crooked and didn’t care to fix it as he jumped out his car and hurried inside.

The downstairs lights were on and Baekhyun didn’t even bother doing much more than tossing his keys into the holder by the door and relocking it. 

“Babe! I’m here!” 

No response, so Baekhyun just started up the stairs loudly, shedding his jacket along the way and leaving it draped over the railing. 

The house looked… _stressful._

There was a pile of clothes that needed to be washed sitting outside in the hallway, a few stray kids toys scattered about and all of the bedroom doors were open.

It just wasn’t what they normally did - a slight mess was normal, _hell_ they had two five year olds and a baby, but Chanyeol got really stressed as soon as things got _too_ cluttered. 

So already being stressed out with the strain between them, not motivated to pick up, and then that spiraling into _more stress…_

Baekhyun frowned and walked into Jangmi’s room, pretending he didn’t notice that her toys were all over the floor and walking over to the crib where the crib mobile with stars and planets was moving around in a slow circle.

The doe eyed baby was sleeping peacefully with soft breathing, no fussing in sight and a little fist pressed up against an orange binky in her mouth. 

“Mommy’s here, baby girl,” He cooed, reaching inside to feel her forehead. “Ah, my sweet girl. Did you scare daddy? You feel okay.” 

_“I gave her a bath and she cooled down a bit.”_

Baekhyun jumped and grabbed his chest with a groan, twisting around to send Chanyeol a wide eye look, “You scared me. When did you get so quiet?” 

Chanyeol just snorted and ran a hand through his damp hair, a towel around his shoulders, grey pajama pants low on his hips, no shirt on and a sheepish look on his face as he came closer. “Does she feel warm still?” 

“I don’t think so,” Baekhyun whispered, turning back to the crib to adjust the baby’s blanket over her more, “Maybe she was just giving daddy a scare.” 

“You know I’m bad at telling if the kids are sick or just having a belly ache or headache.” Chanyeol murmured, wrapping arms around his hips and reaching over to turn off the mobile. 

The carrier hummed an agreement, tucking the blanket around little legs, “You just get worried, and that’s okay, baby.” 

Chanyeol didn’t reply and Baekhyun turned to press a kiss to his cheek, resting his forehead on his face a moment before gently pushing him back a little, “We should let her sleep.” 

“Oh- oh, yeah, come with me.” 

Baekhyun giggled quietly and shut the bedroom door behind him as Chanyeol pulled him out by his hand, quickly latching onto his arm.

He led the smaller down the stairs and past the kitchen to the living room.

Baekhyun hadn’t looked around much when he arrived because he’d been worried about checking Jangmi, so he hadn’t even noticed the television was on and set up for movies or the snacks on the table.

“Did you trick me to come have a date with you?” Baekhyun teased, plopping onto the furniture and reaching for his shoes.

“Not exactly. Just hoped you were going to stay.” 

He licked his lips and shook his head fondly, tossing his shoes to the side before snatching a chocolate bar off the table, “I told the kids we were coming back tomorrow, first thing. Well, maybe after we clean up a bit.” 

Chanyeol took in a big breath, an audible one, grabbing Baekhyun’s waist and curling into his side needily, _“Really?”_

Baekhyun hurried to chew up his bite before looking at him with pouted lips for a kiss, “It’s been a week, not forever, and I wasn’t intending to be away forever. Just until I could figure things out and I _have.”_

The way his husband sighed made guilt settle in his stomach. 

It had just been a _really_ long week and a half.

“I just really love you.” Chanyeol murmured, grabbing Baekhyun’s wrist to playfully pretend to want to steal the bite out of his hand.

The carrier snickered and smacked his chest lightly before giving up a piece of chocolate and pressing it to Chanyeol's mouth with his cheek on the man's shoulder, “Who would’ve thought I would be stalked to my work and then end up marrying the guy.” 

It took about four beats of silence before Chanyeol was sputtering and coughing, “W-What? Stalked- what? _Baby, you’re so rude!”_ He whined, snatching the candy from Baekhyun’s hand. 

Baekhyun whined and began to pout and ready a rant, but his husband was pushing him gently against the cushions and beginning to tickle his sides. 

He screamed and laughed as he tried to scoot away but Chanyeol grabbed his ankle and pulled him back with a fit of laughter, “Come on! The twins don’t even try to run away! That’s not fair!” 

“I’m a grown adult!” Baekhyun argued loudly, but he didn’t sound very grown giggling and kicking a foot carefully at Chanyeol's thigh, “Stay back, stalker!”

Chanyeol snorted and let him go so the carrier turned to crawl across the couch with a red face and a pout, plopping down on his stomach and reaching for the snacks on the table with his cheek against the cushions.

“You’re-“

“Your husband?” Baekhyun finished, rolling over onto his back with his hair dismayed and a box of sweets.

“I was going to say a _monster,_ but sure… that works.” 

Baekhyun snorted and patted his chest with soft eyes.

Chanyeol moved to lay over him instantly, fingers curling under his shirt to rub over his soft sides and pressing a kiss to the underside of Baekhyun’s jaw.

It would be cute when Chanyeol wouldn’t be able to do this when his stomach got big, the man always went on and on about hurting the baby if he didn’t protect his belly.

It was really thoughtful, and Chanyeol always wanted to look at his stomach up close when he was huge with Jangmi, so Baekhyun was excited to put a pillow by his stomach so Chanyeol could lay on it and have little kisses placed on his belly.

It would be months until then, but it wasn’t something that occured often, so he was excited.

“We were trying a long time.” 

Baekhyun hummed and pet through his hair, “We were.”

“Why is our timing always so bad for everything?”

The smaller frowned and sighed softly as he wracked hands through Chanyeol hair, “Hey. We can’t always plan everything that happens, and that’s okay, Chanyeol.” 

Chanyeol released a heavy breath and shifted to climb over top of him more, laying his elbows beside Baekhyun’s head and pressing a kiss to his brow.

Baekhyun wrapped his limbs around him instantly, fingers grabbing Chanyeol’s cheeks and pressing a soft kiss to his lips, he stayed there for a second to feel the breathing against his lips before kissing again.

“One fight isn’t going to split us up, baby.” Baekhyun promised, locking his eyes into Chanyeol’s with a gentle expression, “Okay? I know I said things that hurt you very badly. But it was because I was in my head, I’m not scared of you, and the twins are yours and you know that - I would _never_ take them away from you.” 

Chanyeol didn’t reply immediately, he just searched Baekhyun’s face for a good few minutes, shifting to run a hand over his forehead to push his bangs back and kissing the soft skin there. “Thank you, baby.” 

“You don’t need to say-“

“Shush, my turn to apologize,” Chanyeol chided playfully, pinching the cute roundness of Baekhyun’s cheek and the smaller laughed, bumping his palm with his nose. “I talked to Junmyeon a bunch,” He continued, thumb rubbing over Baekhyun’s features gently, “And I’m going to remember how not to talk to you when you’re upset. When you’re worried. I think… I was just so _exhausted_ with work that someone trying to scold me made me defensive. That’s wrong, you’re my husband, you’re allowed to scold me - hell, I scold you all the time for forgetting to eat and not sleeping long enough.”

“You do get upset if I worry about you,” Baekhyun agreed softly, petting the back of Chanyeol's head. “You want to worry about me and I want to worry about you, that’s how it works, and then together we worry about the kids.” 

Chanyeol sighed and burrowed his face in Baekhyun’s neck, “It’s hard not to worry about you, baby. After everything… it’s… really, really hard. But, I shouldn’t have pushed you like that, I feel like you were ready to jump off a ledge to get away from me, and that is _not_ what I want at all, Baekhyun. 

I really… can’t imagine what the hell I would do without you. This week has been _horrible,_ Jangmi kept asking for you guys as soon as we left Junmyeon’s house, she went crawling into your closet to look for you, I-I really can’t handle this. I need you guys here. All of you. And the _fucked_ up part is how much I was.. sitting here _knowing_ that you could handle it. 

You’re so _amazing,_ Baek. Really. I know if things came down to it that you would be able to handle everything so much better than me, and I was _pathetic._ I just cried and coddled Jangmi more than she wanted because she wanted to _‘go dada,’”_ Chanyeol chuckled under his breath and Baekhyun held the back of his head tighter in fear it was a teary chuckle. “But you _could_ do it alone, and I guess that scares me, because I want you to need me like I need you. And messing up like this has really… made me _remember_ that.” 

“Oh, _Chanyeol..”_ Baekhyun sighed and scratched his hair. “You’re so wrong, baby. I need you _so_ much. With or without the kids, I need you. Just because I can pretend to be okay with the kids around _doesn’t_ mean I don’t need you. I need you _so_ much. So fucking much. I’ve never loved someone the way I love you, Chanyeol, so remember that instead - I love you.”

***

_“Mommy!”_

“Hold on, Soo, watch out-“ Baekhyun gently laid a hand on the boy's shoulder and pulled him out of the doorway, “Daddy is trying to get our bags, move, baby.” 

Kyungsoo huffed and spun around to rush back into the living room on fast feet, throwing himself to the carpet at his toys.

Baekhyun held the front door open for his husband bringing their things in, Chanyeol's arms were full of bags of clothes as he came through the door to put them by the door.

“I’m never sending Luhan to pack the kids things, did he _really_ need to bring an entire closet?” Chanyeol complained, turning to grab Baekhyun’s cheek for a kiss.

Of course the baby on Baekhyun’s hip wouldn’t allow that - how could she not have all the attention? 

Jangmi threw a hand at Chanyeol's cheek with an audible smack that Baekhyun actually gawked at, “Jangmi! No hitting!”

“Dada _no-no!”_ She screamed, face pulled together in a threat to cry as she clutched Baekhyun’s shirt, “Mama Mimi!”

“Ah, you gremlin, I don’t know how you’re going to learn to share with your new little brother or sister,” Chanyeol scolded playfully, pinching the little girl's nose.

In response, Jangmi shrieked and tucked her head in Baekhyun’s neck, _“Mama.”_ She tattled, “Dada no-no.” 

“Is daddy so mean?” Baekhyun cooed, patting her bottom, Chanyeol sent him an offended look and he stuck his tongue out at him. 

Jangmi whined and nodded her little head, “Dada _so_ no-no!”

Baekhyun laughed and set Jangmi down so she could go toddle off to her brothers. That baby really was going to be a hassle unless she grew to like the idea of a new sibling within the next eight months or so.

“I’m so mean, huh?” Chanyeol grabbed his hips and playfully made an angry face as he pushed Baekhyun’s back against the door, “You didn’t say I was mean last night?” 

The carrier screeched an embarrassed noise and smacked his arm before wrapping his arms around Chanyeol's shoulders and standing on his toes, “You shut your mouth unless you want absolutely _no sex_ for the next month.” 

“Okay and I’m suddenly shutting up - hi, baby, you look beautiful.” 

Baekhyun cackled at his goofiness and kissed his lips a handful of times, petting his cheek and sort of just dangling off of Chanyeol's because of his height, tip toes barely touching the ground from the arms wrapped around his back. 

“Hi, handsome.” He giggled, “Your cheek is red, Jangmi got you good.” 

“Aish, tell me why we call her princess again? She’s so rude.”

Baekhyun scrunched his nose up as he laughed, releasing him to lean down and take off his shoes, “That was literally _you_ that started that. I was fine with Mimi, but _no,_ you go and make all these adorable nicknames and they stick.” 

Chanyeol grumbled and Baekhyun couldn't help laughing at him as he walked into the living room to lean over the back of the couch.

Kyungsoo was busy shooing Jangmi away from his puzzle and Jongin was in the corner holding one of his bears like one would a baby, eyes glued to the television.

Hands wrapped around his waist and Baekhyun began to laugh at Chanyeol's neediness as a kiss was placed on the back of his neck, a deep voice rumbling against his spine, “Nini, are you practicing for your new brother or sister?”

The boy blinked away from the television before frowning, “What?” 

“Are you going to hold your sibling like that?” Baekhyun rephrased, pointing at the bear and leaning back into Chanyeol, “Like when Mimi was smaller.” 

Jongin scrunched his nose up before giggling and dropping his bear, “Ew! No! Gross! I don’t want baby boogers on me, yucky!” 

“Hey! Jangmi wasn’t that bad, she was only a little snotty!” Chanyeol complained over Baekhyun’s shoulder, “You were so snotty when you were little too! Even when you were two you were so snotty!” 

“I sneezed daddy lots?” Jongin laughed hysterically, “Soo, did you hear that I sneezed on daddy?”

Kyungsoo looked up with round eyes from his seat on the floor, at the small movement Jangmi shrieked as if it was an opportunity for her to get attention from him and plopped onto his spine. “SooSoo!”

He began to whine but didn’t shake Jangmi off because she wasn’t doing much but being a koala and hugging his back - drooling a little bit onto his shirt.

“Oh god.” Baekhyun whispered, twisting around to hug Chanyeol’s waist, “Did you see how Jongin dropped the bear? I’m _traumatized! I’m shaking!”_ He whined playfully, “I’m hiding now.” 

Chanyeol burst into laughter at his dramatics, hugging his head to his chest, “You're so cute.”

“I’m going to tell my therapist about this.” 

Chanyeol snickered and pet his spine, nuzzling into Baekhyun’s hair, “Silly, you know Jongin was good with Jangmi, he’ll be good with the baby. We still have eight months - he’ll be six by then.” 

Baekhyun whined harder, “Now I’m just sad you brought up his birthday! Hold me, husband, you hurt my feelings! Ah, I’m gonna cry… they’re so _big, ugh._ I hate it.” 

“You know what’s even sadder? Jangmi turns two this year too.” 

Whining, Baekhyun pulled away with a playful scowl, pretending to wipe his eyes as he made a move towards the stairs, “You're so mean! I’m going to go hide and cry!”

“Why is mommy gonna cry?” Jongin chirped, standing on the couch cushion and reaching for Chanyeol. “Can I go hide with mommy?”

Baekhyun’s face pulled into an amused one as he grabbed the stair railing, “Whoever finds mommy gets all the kisses in the world!” He yelled, turning to rush up the stairs.

“I want the kisses!” Kyungsoo's interest was regained, grabbing Jangmi’s hand and standing up, “Come on, Mimi! We have to find mommy first!”

Jongin gasped dramatically and pulled his face together competitively as he released Chanyeol and ran to climb off the couch. “No! I will find mommy!”

“Now, now, play nice babies.” Chanyeol drawled, shrugging a small bit and walking towards the stairs, “There’s no reason to get upset. It won’t matter, because _daddy_ is faster than you!” He cried, climbing a few steps before looking down at them and sticking his tongue out like a child, “Daddy is getting all of mommy’s kisses!”

 _“Daddy!”_ The twins screamed in outrage. 

Jangmi followed shortly behind with lost eyes, toes off the floor as Kyungsoo helped her up the stairs, _“Dada no-no?”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wah bam 💥


	49. Extra: The Green Monster (Pt.1)

Chanyeol had an issue.

An issue that didn’t sound like a typical issue, but it was for him. 

Baekhyun was too pretty.

It was way too distracting and it was actually pissing him off a great deal, because he wasn’t the only one that noticed it.

Baekhyun when pregnant had the brightest smile, his cheeks rounded out and eyes twinkled a little happier. It helped that in general - since he’d been getting some help - Baekhyun was all around happier.

But Chanyeol had a stinking suspicion that the soft curve of his stomach had something to do with people coming at Baekhyun like flies recently. 

They couldn’t do anything without Chanyeol having this twisting of his stomach when someone spoke to Baekhyun or asked for an autograph.

Realistically this was his _husband_ and he had no reason to be jealous, but he’d never had to deal with this before. When they were dating things were all under wraps and now that people knew who Baekhyun was they actively sought him out.

Chanyeol was _sulking._ Worse than Jangmi when Kyungsoo wouldn’t shake her rattle for her, and much worse than Jongin when he was told it was bedtime for the sixth time.

_“Daddy, can I get this?”_

Chanyeol tore his eyes away from Baekhyun smiling at a fan girl across the store. 

They knew better than to be out in public this long, but it was still early enough that the mall wasn’t too packed, and with the new baby coming in months they wanted to stock up on some early supplies. 

“Let me see, baby,” Chanyeol murmured, kneeling down to take the t-shirt from Kyungsoo, checking the size tag. “I thought you didn’t like Spider-Man anymore.” 

“Nope!” Kyungsoo giggled and bounced on his feet, “I like him ‘gain, he’s cool.” 

Chanyeol laughed and pressed a kiss to his head. “I’ll put it in the cart mommy has, go find Nini, will you?” 

Kyungsoo smiled in a way that made his cheeks meet his eyes and his nose crunch together. “Yes daddy!” 

Well at least there was _that._ His handsome little boys that took his mind off this unsettling feeling for a moment. 

But thinking too much about how tall Jongin had gotten or how Kyungsoo’s smile was much brighter now just made him hurt in other ways, too much time passed and it was incredibly unfair.

Baekhyun always told him he was a huge _baby_ about things like this, but Chanyeol was just waiting for the carrier to have the realization that Jangmi was toddling and neither of them could even pinpoint what day she started to waddle about because they were so used to it.

 _Fuck._ Being a parent was rough.

“Baekhyun,” Chanyeol called rather loudly, walking across the department store with a blank expression, “Baek.” 

His husband and the fan girl were giggling about something when Chanyeol reached them.

“Dada!” Jangmi cooed from the stroller at Baekhyun’s side, peeking a little head with two ponytails out. “Dada _‘I!”_

“Hi.” Chanyeol smiled a bit easier and leaned down to unbuckle her, “Is your mommy being so mean? My baby girl wants out, huh?” 

_“Yup!”_ Jangmi pouted her round cheeks and plopped onto his neck, kicking her little white sandals around, “Nini go?”

“You aren’t going with Nini, princess.” Chanyeol murmured, kissing her little fingers when she prodded his cheek and dropped the Spider-Man top into the stroller. 

“Chanyeol!” Baekhyun turned to him with a twinkling smile when he felt a hand against his back, “This is Sori, she’s a big fan.” 

_Ugh._ Chanyeol hated how hard it was to force a smile, but the woman was practically giving Baekhyun heart eyes.

The green monster was coming back in an instant, and he had no idea what his deal was recently, but everyone seemed to want to see Baekhyun or talk to him, it was getting ridiculous.

“Hello,” Chanyeol smiled politely and shuffled Jangmi onto his side when she whined to touch Baekhyun’s arm, “Did you enjoy the last release?” 

“Oh I’m a big fan of Baekhyun!” She cried, radiating excitement, “I was just telling him that I love the track he did for the kids!”

“Oh, Chanyeol actually wrote that,” Baekhyun said gently, reaching over to pet a hand over Chanyeol chest, “I just sung it, my husband does all the hard work,” He laughed with crescent eyes.

_“Daddy!”_

Chanyeol laughed when there were arms wrapping around his leg, not commenting when he saw Kyungsoo adding a toy truck into the basket on the back of the stroller, just snickering at Jongin hiding in his leg.

“Who’s that, daddy!”

“Don’t point,” Chanyeol shushed, shooing his little hand away, “Be nice.” 

_“Nice!”_ Jangmi parroted with a fit of slobber and a mock angry face. “Nini _nice!”_

“- oh no, really.” Baekhyun began to giggle and it made Chanyeol’s lips press together. Ah… why was his husband allowed to be that enchanting?

It wasn’t fair. 

“Chanyeol is-“

“Oh, you’re selling yourself short,” The woman flirted and Chanyeol had seen it coming a mile away, but hated it, his brows pulled together instantly and he pursed his lips as he knelt down to set Jangmi back into the stroller.

She began to fuss and he shushed her a bit, “We’ll get lunch after this, lady bug. Hungry?”

 _“Fries!”_ Kyungsoo chirped over his shoulder, shoving a toy bunny at Jangmi which mostly just got in the way of Chanyeol trying to buckle her up, but he appreciated the distraction.

“Yes, you three discuss what you want to eat.” Chanyeol suggested, turning to tug Jongin's shirt seeing as he was rudely staring at the woman with a grumpy face, “Jonginnie, explain to Soo why you think nuggets are breakfast food.” He said quietly, knowing it would get the kids all distracted because Kyungsoo loved to argue with his brother suddenly.

It was cute and all, but not when they caught the twins hiding under blankets to argue about superhero characters past bedtime. 

“Baek,” Chanyeol ran a hand over Jongin's head and approached his husband to wrap an arm around Baekhyun’s waist, fingers petting over the rounding of the side of his belly. “The kids are hungry, are you ready to go?” 

“Not yet. Just a second, babe.” 

Chanyeol felt his stomach churn with jealousy and sighed as he leaned his head on Baekhyun’s, clinging to him like a koala.

“- and the album cover had a crown for our baby girl, and then the two stuffed toys for the twins, Kyungsoo loves lions right now, so he wanted it on the cover, so the toy chest album cover was really just a huge mess of things the kids liked.”

“Wow, how is it possible you can be this pretty and also so smart, Baekhyun!”

Okay. Chanyeol put his foot down at blatant flirting, but Baekhyun was never one to take hints and began to laugh and shake his head, “No, really! It wasn’t just me!”

“Nonsense, you should take credit for your work! I love the song Paradise especially, it’s just beautiful-“

“I wrote that,” Chanyeol smiled tensely and draped his arm across Baekhyun’s chest, “It’s a beautiful song for _my_ beautiful husband.” 

“Ah! Don’t!” Baekhyun whined, blushing and turning to hide in Chanyeol’s chest, “Don’t embarrass me here…” 

“Our kids are hungry, so if you’ll excuse us.” Chanyeol said, smiling in accomplishment to himself as he pet Baekhyun’s spine and pulled him a bit towards the stroller more.

Baekhyun began to whine and pulled out of his grip with a confused face, “Yeol, I wasn’t _done yet..”_ He pouted, grabbing the handles of the stroller.

“Stop being so cute,” Chanyeol ordered, kneeling down to grab Jongin's hand when he latched onto his pant leg, “It’s getting you into all sorts of trouble.” 

“I wanted to brag about you more…” Baekhyun complained with his chubby cheeks puffed out and messy hair over his brows, “My husband is so _mean._ Aish, I was busy saying how much I love you and this is the love I get in return!” 

How could Chanyeol keep his jealousy at that? He deflated rather quickly and reached over to take one of Baekhyun’s hands, kissing his knuckles. “Brag to me then. I want to hear it.” 

Baekhyun began to laugh loudly, rolling his eyes and Chanyeol couldn’t help just _looking_ at him. 

Baekhyun was too pretty.

_“Daddy! I want up!”_

As Chanyeol leaned down to collect Kyungsoo despite the fact the boy was _way_ too old to be being carried around, he mused maybe he was just overreacting.

***

Chanyeol wasn’t overreacting.

He was once again reminded that Baekhyun was too pretty _and_ too friendly for his own good and it made his hair stand on end. 

“Do you guys know who that is?” He asked, helping Jongin remove his backpack in the parking lot of the school, eyes shooting out the window to watch Baekhyun talking to some man he didn’t know.

Chanyeol hated not to be in the loop.

“That’s Mr. Kim!” Kyungsoo cried, kicking his legs back and forth as he buckled himself into his booster seat, “Mama talks with him lots.” 

Chanyeol's jaw clenched, “Hm, is that so?” 

“Yup!” 

Chanyeol tried his best not to be visually irritated, leaning down to take Jangmi’s bottle out of her lap before it rolled out of her hand and wiping her drool covered cheek.

She looked just like Baekhyun when she slept, hair messy, cheeks puffy, and lips in a parted pout.

“Mr. Kim helps with things.” 

“What things?” 

“Um…” Jongin scrunched his nose up and kicked his legs back and forth, “Like… things like letters and stuff.” 

“He’s an assistant?” Chanyeol murmured aloud, “What do him and mommy talk about?”

“Don’t know.” 

Well _that_ was no help. 

Chanyeol sighed and handed the backpack to Jongin, closing the backseat door and walking around the car to get into the front, eyeing the close proximity Baekhyun had with the stranger.

Baekhyun even hit his arm playfully and Chanyeol sunk into his spot with a full blow scowl.

“Daddy! Are we go to the fishes?”

“We are _going_ to the aquarium still,” Chanyeol corrected Kyungsoo softly, leaning his cheek onto his fist, “That's why both mommy and daddy came to pick you guys up from school, remember? Silly boy.” 

Kyungsoo filled the car with a fit of laughter, and it was always a wonder to Chanyeol how Jangmi could just sleep through it, but her brothers could be _so_ loud, and she slept like a rock. 

“Just as soon as mommy gets back in the car,” He added with a tone that was jealous even to his own ears.

“Ah!” Jongin complained, “Daddy, mommy is taking _forever! It’s been hours!”_

“It’s been ten minutes.” Chanyeol snickered, turning around in his seat to reach back and pinch his leg, “You're so dramatic, Nini bear.” 

“Feels like forever..” Jongin pouted and tucked his chin into his top, “I wanna see fishes, daddy.” 

Chanyeol snickered and wanted to go back there and kiss his pouty cheeks for being so cute even though he knew he should scold the twins for being whiny lately.

They were really cute though so he had a hard time doing so, especially when they made up very convincing points like _I can have sugar for dinner because Pooh Bear has honey for dinner, daddy!_

He certainly couldn’t argue that.

Chanyeol turned to open his car door, leaning out of it a bit to call, “Baby! The kids want to go see the fish now!” He yelled _really_ loudly, echoing outside of the car door.

_“Yeah! Fishes!”_

Baekhyun blushed all the way down his chest and sent Chanyeol a _what the hell_ embarrassed look at his yelling. 

But it worked and after Baekhyun turned back to the man and said something Chanyeol couldn’t help smirking when he and his rounded stomach started coming back to the car, looking _pissed_ but also adorably flushed.

“Daddy is funny.” Jongin giggled and fiddled with his bag with a hiccuping laugh.

Chanyeol chuckled and smiled wide when Baekhyun jumped into the car with a fiery pout, face red and leaning over to deliver a weak smack to Chanyeol’s arm, “Why would you do that!” He whined.

“The kids wanna see the fish,” Chanyeol answered simply, grabbing his wrist and pressing a kiss to his wedding band. “Mommy was taking too long.” 

_“Yeah! Too long!”_

Baekhyun opened his mouth and Chanyeol could see the complaints coming, but Chanyeol leaned over to press a soft kiss right onto his parted lips, cupping his jaw to pull back with a beaming grin. 

Baekhyun only huffed then, throwing himself back into his seat and collecting Chanyeols fingers to intertwine them, angrily looking out the window. “You're lucky I love you. I was seeing how Soo’s reading was going.” 

It was Chanyeol’s turn to be embarrassed, squeezing Baekhyun’s fingers before he felt his ears turn red, licking his lips nervously. “Of course. I knew that's what you were doing…” 

“Why the weird tone?”

“Just love you, angel.” 

Baekhyun began to giggle, oblivious to Chanyeol’s inner voice wondering what the _fuck_ was wrong with him lately.

“Mommy, I’m gonna see the fishes!” Kyungsoo cried from the backseat.

Baekhyun laughed and turned around with his other hand on his belly, “Is that right? Are you gonna make daddy carry you when you get tired again?” 

_“Yup!”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chanyeol never really was jealous or possessive in the original, huh? 🤔


	50. Extra: The Green Monster (Pt.2)

_“You haven’t heard from him today?”_

Chanyeol gritted his teeth and walked down the stairs of their home, twisting his ring between his finger and narrowly avoiding toys, “No, I woke up and he was gone.” 

_“Don't worry, the kids are still fine to stay the night over here.”_ Minseok murmured, in the background Chanyeol could hear Jangmi’s high pitched squealing, _“I’m sure he has a good reason.”_

“He hasn’t texted me back, I’ve been blowing him up since an hour ago.” He fussed, chewing on his lip and searching the living room for any sign of his husband. 

_“Trust me, Chanyeol, I’m sure he’s not running off - I know Baekhyun, he hasn’t said a word about anything bad-“_

“I’m worried,” Chanyeol blurted, “You know ever since we had that fight… I’ve had this scared feeling that he’s… put off by me or like.. I don’t know… seeing someone else? I’m just paranoid. I was horrible to him, so he has all right..” 

_“Now that’s straight up crazy talk, has he even been distant with you? Last I heard he was laughing his head off about photos you guys had done.”_

Chanyeol twisted his lips and nodded to himself, because it was true Baekhyun wasn't distant with him… if anything they spoke so much more now because Baekhyun wanted to speak freely after therapy very often.

But he couldn’t recall when the last time was that he just simply sat down to love on him, to hold him and sit in silence for a while. 

There was a difference between Baekhyun wanting to talk to him and the pair laying down for bed together to whisper and just simply loving each other.

Before he could think much more about it he heard the sound of Baekhyun’s car pulling up and raced towards the window, “He just got home. I’ll let you know if we’re coming to get the kids tonight.”

_“Chanyeol… this really isn’t my place, but maybe you're so anxious because you know… you’re always too cautious with a new baby coming. Baekhyun isn’t going to get hurt, you know… just a thought.”_

Chanyeol swallowed because he knew what Minseok was getting at, but he couldn’t help just mumbling his goodbyes because his brows were furrowed at Baekhyun climbing out of his car with his phone in his ear.

Baekhyun hadn’t even left him one message saying where he'd gone, but he had his phone on him… obviously. 

He'd been worried sick, and Baekhyun was just giggling with his phone to his ear and bags in his hands.

Chanyeol swung the front door open with a concerned scowl, meeting chocolate eyes that widened when they met his. 

“Honey!” Baekhyun cooed, “Don't look in the bags, okay?” 

Chanyeol was far too worried with the jealousy swirling in his stomach, “Why not?” He asked, reaching out to accept the bags and hold the door open for his husband.

“Just one second,” Baekhyun replied to him, holding his phone and turning to walk away without so much as a kiss to the cheek or anything. “Oh no, it’s just Chanyeol. I just got home.” 

Somehow the words _just Chanyeol_ rubbed him the wrong way, a frown covering his face as he abandoned the bags by the door. “Baek. Can I talk to you?”

_“Just a second, baby.”_

Chanyeol huffed and slumped against the wall as he pouted, eyes following his husband's giggling and watching Baekhyun toe off his shoes. 

“-no, no, he doesn’t know yet. It’s exciting.” 

“I don’t know what?” 

Baekhyun only shushed him and Chanyeol felt like a child in timeout even though he hadn’t done anything. 

Chanyeol had noticed Baekhyun began to do these things about a month ago, talking on the phone a lot, texting, racing to go places fast. 

He hadn’t thought much of it until now, when the jealousy and insecurity began to fester and bubble. 

It really didn’t help that Chanyeol was holding onto his anxiety of what happened about two months ago, he felt things were incredibly fragile despite Baekhyun not seeming to blame him at all. 

“Baek-“

Chanyeol flat out _scowled_ when Baekhyun raised a finger to him like they did the kids when they got too loud, he tried to hold it in, the jealousy, but couldn’t and walked over to him.

“Chan-“ 

Chanyeol grabbed the phone and placed it to his own ear, Baekhyun began to laugh at him, thinking he was being silly, but Chanyeol was _pissed_ frankly.

“This is Park Chanyeol, Baekhyun's husband. And I’m going to have to ask you not to contact my husband anymore. I have to say that this is _my_ husband, mine, and -“

 _“Chanyeol?”_ Came through the speaker, a deep laugh before flat out cackling, _“Are you seriously giving me a “this is my husband” speech right now? Me? Aish, when Baekhyun said you were tense lately… I didn’t know it was this bad…”_ Yifan began to laugh hysterically and Chanyeol felt his ears burn with humiliation.

“You done?” Baekhyun giggled up at him, reaching for his phone just to simply toss it to the side with an amused look on his face and fingers curling into Chanyeol’s shirt. “Why so sour looking, babe?” He teased. 

“You… you little…” Chanyeol grumbled and was met with a bunch of laughter as Baekhyun pressed his protruding belly against him, “You little sneak! What are you thinking getting me riled up!”

 _“Well…”_ Baekhyun hummed, dancing fingers along Chanyeol's chest, “I’ve been preparing a few things for your birthday, in secret, and I noticed you were being nosy… at first I thought… hm… he’s catching onto me, but _then_ I saw it as a chance to see what you would do…” 

Chanyeol's jaw dropped a bit, an angry brow forming, but he had to give Baekhyun props, “You - what!”

Baekhyun giggled brattily and hummed to himself, “Payback because you never want to sleep with me when I get pregnant! It doesn’t hurt the baby, Chanyeol- _Ah!”_

He was cut off by strong hands latching onto his wrist and marching him away, Baekhyun began to laugh as he was taken into the recording room, instantly gasping when Chanyeol laid hands beside his head and pressed into his chest with a heavy breath. 

“I thought you were _growing tired of me.”_ Chanyeol growled, “And you were just upset I wouldn’t sleep with you! Baekhyun!”

Baekhyun began to laugh like a maniac, tugging on Chanyeol’s shirt and standing on his tippy toes. 

“Baek.” Chanyeol sighed and rested his forehead against Baekhyun’s hair, feeling slender fingers tucking into his waistband. “I was worried. You know.. because of recently and then _this…”_

Baekhyun’s face dropped a bit, tsking and reaching up for his face, gathering his cheeks to press a firm kiss onto his mouth. “No, babe, sh.. ah… I was joking with you and now I feel so bad, you big jealous _meanie.”_

Chanyeol laughed softly, grabbing his hands and pressing them into the door beside his ears, “You're horrible, the worst at messing around. You-“

“Are you mad?” Baekhyun gave big, innocent eyes, but Chanyeol felt him pressing his hips against him, giving away his intent. “Sorry, babe… I won’t do it again…” 

Chanyeol licked his lips and debated on _not_ giving into his games purely because he knew it's what Baekhyun wanted… But now he was just turned on and _pissed off_ and all around irritated with his husband's innocent pouty face.

Baekhyun had been getting on his nerves for about a month, flirting with people, being overly friendly… Chanyeol should have known it was on purpose.

He leaned down and slammed his lips onto Baekhyun’s, holding his arms still beside his head and muffling the excited noise the carrier released.

It wasn’t one of the normal kisses they shared, it wasn’t soft presses of lips or gentle licking of his mouth, but harsh nips and grinding.

They didn’t get a chance to have sex like this normally, too tired after taking care of the kids or just more in the mood for soft, gentle sex, but there was certainly time to do so now.

All the kids were at their uncles, Chanyeol was absolutely irritated with Baekhyun’s games, and Baekhyun seemed to be in an incredibly aggressive mood for sex.

Baekhyun always seemed to have a high sex drive when pregnant, but Chanyeol had been way too nervous trying to make things up to his husband that they hadn’t even had sex since the night he and Baekhyun worked things out.

It was stupid on his part, because it was obvious they shouldn’t go that long without sex.

“Y-You-“ Baekhyun gasped, lips swollen and red, turning his head back for kisses to be marked down his throat, “-so handsome when jealous.” 

“You’re fucking ridiculous.” 

Baekhyun giggled a breathy noise, whining and trying to move his pinned arms, “Tell me what you think why don’t you?” He teased, spreading his legs a bit so Chanyeol could slot his knee between them.

“What I think..” Chanyeol snickered, running his lips over the sensitive skin of his collarbones, “Is that you're _mine_ and I’m never falling for your stupidly _gorgeous_ confused looks again… fuck, I was getting so upset.” 

He could practically feel the apology coming when Baekhyun stopped squirming and sighed, but Chanyeol shushed him with a kiss onto his mouth and pulled away.

“Come on, baby. I’m impatient now,” He chided playfully, running a hand over Baekhyun’s cheek and tugging his top, “Gonna watch you.” 

Baekhyun blushed and Chanyeol laughed and took a seat on the lounge with his knees spread and resting his chin on his palm. 

It was so cute that Baekhyun wanted to play innocent now, fiddling with the end of his top. 

It wasn’t normal, normally they either were too rushed to have sex that clothes went flying or Chanyeol stripped him himself because he was incredibly impatient when it came to his husbands body.

But it was nice to just watch too.

“Chanyeol…” He whined, removing his top and unbuttoning his jeans, “Stop staring.” 

“Why? You got yourself into this mess,” Chanyeol chuckled, “And you're so pretty, baby.” 

Baekhyun’s lip quirked up and no matter how much he played shy, it gave him away. 

Chanyeol wasn't wrong though, Baekhyun was gorgeous with his swollen chest, rounding belly and the scar on his lower abdomen.

“Ah, it’s _cold…”_ Baekhyun complained, crossing his arms despite it not being cold.

Chanyeol always took that as a _I’m embarrassed_ sort of thing, but hated it because Baekhyun had nothing to be embarrassed about.

“Come here, sweetheart,” He cooed.

Baekhyun came bouncing over instantly, red marks on his neck and erection straining against his underwear.

Chanyeol would never make him stand there alone long enough for him to grow insecure, no matter how long he wanted to just look at him.

“I’m sorry for being mean to you…” 

Chanyeol just smiled and shook his head, pressing a soft kiss to the top of his belly and shifting to make room in his lap for Baekhyun to sit down. “Don't. I’m going to punish you by fucking you silly in a minute.” 

Baekhyun squeaked and pressed a hand over Chanyeol’s mouth, “Sh! The baby can hear you…” 

They both laughed after the comment, because it was impossible given Baekhyun wasn’t far along at all. Chanyeol just found him adorable though.

“You're ridiculous,” He commented, laughing and kissing the center of Baekhyun’s chest, dipping his palms under the back of his underwear to cup his ass. “Love you.”

Baekhyun leaned down to slump into his chest with a soft smile, moving his hand to find Chanyeol’s cock through his jeans, “You're supposed to be _“fucking me silly.”  
_

 _“Sh, the baby shouldn’t hear you talk like that,”_ Chanyeol teased.


	51. Extra: A Typical Saturday

“Mama! Na-na!”

Baekhyun snickered and leaned down to snatch up Jangmi before she got angry and smeared her banana all over the couch, placing her onto his legs, “Oh? You got a nana? _Yummy!”_

The baby squealed and nodded with her chin covered in the food, her hair was all down and loose so Baekhyun quickly brushed it back before it got caught in her vicious bite of her banana.

“Are you playing with mommy?” Baekhyun cooed, scratching her scalp gently.

“No no.” 

Gasping playfully, Baekhyun grabbed her fingers and pretended to bite them in retaliation for her being a brat, “Rude! Who are you playing with then?” 

Jangmi brought her shoulders up to her ears, making her little belly show a bit from her top that was nearly too small - but she screamed and refused to wear anything but the little shirt with a sunflower on it even if it was stained up and too small. “Mimi.” 

“You’re playing by yourself?” Baekhyun snorted and kissed her head, “Okay. You can play by yourself and mommy will supervise.” 

Jangmi mumbled something that he suspected was an attempt at copying him, but she just giggled to herself and plopped back into Baekhyun’s chest, using his rounded belly like a pillow and even throwing her legs over the outside of his thighs.

Baekhyun rolled his eyes fondly at her strangeness and blamed Chanyeol 100% for it, because his husband was also incredibly strange.

_“Daddy, no!”_

Baekhyun internally whined as he heard the sound of the chaos moving downstairs and groaned.

So much for _mommy tv time,_ now it was just _mommy yells at daddy_ time also known as a typical Saturday.

Baekhyun shifted to lean over the couch which got an irritable noise from Jangmi but he just rubbed her head and she calmed down.

Chanyeol was running down the stairs like a kid - he always did no matter how many times Baekhyun told him not to teach the kids it’s okay to run down the stairs - as if he wasn’t a fully grown adult. 

“Soo has a crush! Soo has a crush!” Chanyeol screamed, holding a paper over his head and flinging it back and forth.

“Chan,” Baekhyun deadpanned, “You're about to get beat up.”

In response, a war cry sounded and Baekhyun’s brows flew up high as Kyungsoo peered through the stair railing with narrowed eyes, a pillow in hand that he held over his shoulder ready to throw.

“Yah!” Chanyeol yelled, pointing a finger up at him, “Don’t you throw that! Baek, tell him not to throw that!”

“You get one throw because Chanyeol is annoying me,” Baekhyun answered.

Kyungsoo screamed and flung the pillow down the stairs, “I don’t have a crush! Jongin has one!” 

Chanyeol stuck his tongue out at him before waving the paper back and forth, “This says _otherwise!”_

Baekhyun sighed because he knew Kyungsoo was ready to burst. Wrapping an arm around Jangmi, he reached over the back of the couch, “Gimme.” 

“Haha, I’m telling on you!” Chanyeol teased.

The last thing Baekhyun heard from Kyungsoo was a loud shriek before stomps came from upstairs and he had no doubt the boy would be back with weapons soon.

“Soo has a crush.” Chanyeol said firmly, giggling like a child as he rushed to the back of the couch, handing the paper over. 

Baekhyun hummed and felt a kiss be placed on his cheek as he looked at the drawing. It really wasn’t anything important, it was simply a drawing of two stick people holding hands which was typical of the twins' drawings and Chanyeol knew that.

It _was_ a bit odd that Kyungsoo would draw a girl seeing as Jangmi in drawing form was a round scribble which Baekhyun took offense to and said they couldn’t draw her like a bouncy ball just because she was a little chubby.

“I think it’s some girl from his class.” 

“Yeah if she has noodle hair then _maybe,”_ Baekhyun snorted and put the paper on the couch, “He probably just saw it on tv or something. You're so dramatic.” 

“Hey, Nini has a crush on Taemin and you know it, but every time I snoop around Soo you always have to make complaints,” Chanyeol whined, leaning over the back of the couch to bite at Jangmi’s cheek.

The girl squeaked and made an angry noise before pushing his face away with a yell of _my nana!_

“Soo is a baby.” 

“Soo is nearly six years old.” Chanyeol snorted, eyes twinkling with mischief as he shifted his attention back to Baekhyun, “He can date now.” 

_“Date?”_ Baekhyun hissed and leaned over to smack Chanyeol’s head, “You _stupid_ man! That’s not funny!” He yelled as Chanyeol began to laugh his ass off. “You _stupid man!_ That’s my baby!”

“Dada _no no!”_ Jangmi screamed shrilly, giggling her head off with banana slobber all over her face, “No no!”

“You say that again I’m going to ignore you for a whole day,” Baekhyun threatened, pointing a finger into Chanyeol’s cheek with a full on pout.

Chanyeol continued laughing like the threat didn’t bother him in the least - which Baekhyun knew it _would_ when he made good on it, he knew Chanyeol would walk around sulking the whole day, or do something stupid like burn his finger like last time just so he could go whine to Baekhyun that he got hurt. 

_“Daddy!”_

Just when Baekhyun was going to scold him some more it seemed the little demons were back because Jongin was on a mission, and when he was on a mission he dressed it.

Baekhyun could only smirk when Jongin had a sword in hand and a plastic chest plate from his last Halloween costume, climbing down the stairs with a hand on the rail which sort of took away from his “vicious” entrance, but Baekhyun would rather him be safe than topple down the stairs.

“Hey! What the-“ Chanyeol cried as the boy ran to his legs and started smacking them with the foam sword, “Yah! This isn’t even your fight!”

Jongin paused just to shrug, “Soo says he’ll give me his pudding if I beat you up.” 

Baekhyun snickered and adjusted Jangmi onto his side as he shifted onto his knees to watch.

“This is what happens when daddy is naughty,” Baekhyun murmured as he watched Chanyeol fend off the little sword. “So let’s not be like daddy, huh?” 

Jangmi’s brows were raised with seriousness as she bobbed her head in agreement, smacking her lips a few times. 

“But Mimi is like mommy and mommy is _always_ right, so she doesn’t need to worry,” Baekhyun chirped and pressed a kiss to her cheek.

 _“Jonginnie! Daddy will pay you in chocolate ice cream if you stop!”_ Chanyeol yelled.

“Can't. Made a deal.” The boy replied and pulled back to bring his sword over his shoulder, lifting his chin up, “And a knight doesn't break deals,” And then Baekhyun watched the moment Jongin accidentally missed Chanyeol's thigh and his sword hit straight in between-

Baekhyun pressed a hand over Jangmi’s ear and burst with laughter when Chanyeol knelt over with a loud, “Oh _fuck!”_ And grabbed between his legs.

“Did he just…” Baekhyun trailed off in laughter, standing up and placing Jangmi onto the rug. “Jonginnie, you won. Go tell Soo to make good on his deal.” 

Baekhyun had to resist a _you should’ve seen this coming_ as he bent down to pet Chanyeol’s hair and whisper in his ear. “Baby…” He snickered and kissed Chanyeol's head as the man groaned in pain.

“Fuck. My _fucking balls,_ Baek. I _need_ them.” 

“Hey, we aren’t having any more kids, you don’t need them _that_ bad.” Baekhyun cackled, rubbing his back before tsking and grabbing his face to kiss his forehead. “Okay you big baby, it wasn’t that bad.” 

“I think I’m gonna puke.” 

Baekhyun snorted and brushed his hair out of his face, “Honestly, you completely deserved that. I might just give Jongin my pudding _too_.” 

“You know, sometimes I really find it hard to recall why I love you.” 

“I heard it’s because I’m _real_ pretty.” Baekhyun giggled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to create a separate book for extras for this where people could request things etc, but I decided not to because some old readers might not realize that I started it... of course I could do that instead of you guys really do prefer it... otherwise I was just going to say if you comment/ DM/ or CC me suggestions I will go through them and choose them when I’m in the mood to write!


	52. Extra: Beach Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is from when ChanBaek were dating~ 
> 
> THIS IS FOR MAGS! MAGS IF YOU SEE THIS NOTE ITS FOR YOU AND I LOVE YOU AND WANNA SQUISH YOU WITH A KISSY

_“Mama!”_

“Chanyeol is getting sunscreen. _Wait.”_ Baekhyun hissed and grabbed the back of Kyungsoo's life jacket before he could go running off towards the water, “You can’t swim yet. You wait for mommy and Chanyeol.” 

The toddler began to whine and squirm, so Baekhyun huffed and picked him up.

“Soo, you're not going to swim if you keep being complicated.”

“Did he have a bad night?” Chanyeol commented, one hand holding Jongin's and the other carrying a diaper bag down towards the sandy beach, eyes wide with worry. “We can try again next weeken-“

“No. He’s just grumpy.” Baekhyun argued instantly. 

After all, Chanyeol drove all the way here, so it would be fucked up if he said never mind and made him go all the way back home just over a baby being a bit fussy.

 _“Loey!”_ Kyungsoo burst with tears, reaching out for him and Baekhyun rolled his eyes because he had no idea when the twins began to do _this._

Sure, he and Chanyeol had been together for a while, so the twins saw him often, but he hadn’t expected them to get so attached.

Everytime they got in trouble now it was _Loey_ this _Loey_ that, as if Baekhyun yelled at them or something.

“Soo want Loey,” Jongin chirped as if it was helpful at all, jumping a few times in the sand and giggling at the white sand flying up around his ankles. “Mommy look!”

“I _see,”_ Baekhyun promised, but he was busy trying to hold Kyungsoo still, “Oh my god, you're being so rude today, Soo. Fine. Go get Chanyeol then.” He growled, setting the boy to his feet.

With a pout on his face and tears streaming down his cheeks Kyungsoo ran over to grab Chanyeol’s leg, hiding behind his leg.

“God, they act like I abuse them or something,” Baekhyun complained, sitting down on their blanket spread on the sand before reaching out for Jongin, “Come here, Nini. Let me put you in a life jacket.” 

“Okay, mommy.” 

Baekhyun relaxed a bit seeing as one twin was in a good mood. Maybe Kyungsoo just wanted to latch onto Chanyeol today, and that was okay, but it still hurt his feelings.

What a ridiculous thought considering they were kids and knew no better. 

“This little guy is just bored, huh!” Chanyeol cried in an excited tone, leaning down to scoop up the toddler, “We drove so long Soo is just ready to see the water, isn’t that right!” He cooed, reaching for a bottle of sunscreen.

Baekhyun swallowed and could barely look away from Chanyeol as he lathered sunscreen onto Jongin's arms; he always found it so intriguing yet… _scary_ how close Chanyeol was with the twins.

It wasn’t like they’d been together that long, he'd only recently even begun allowing them to stay the night at Chanyeol’s on nights he was worn out, but Chanyeol had always been like this.

He always had this look in his eye like he was staring at something so beautiful when he looked at the twins. 

Baekhyun was so used to their excited screeching and high pitched voices that he wasn't quite as enthusiastic when he was dead on his feet and the twins ran up to him to bug him, but Chanyeol always was.

Even if Baekhyun took it on himself to drag the twins over sometimes without warning, sitting on the bus for half an hour just to get to Chanyeol’s house and surprising him, he was never dull in reactions to the twins.

It was frightening. Baekhyun admired that sort of enthusiasm from him, but at the same time the longer he watched the kids giggle and rant with Chanyeol he was filled with scary thoughts such as _what would happen if we broke up? If we didn’t get along anymore? Would Chanyeol ever turn out like-_

“Mommy! I do, kay?” Jongin's warm breath hit his face and Baekhyun hadn’t realized he zoned out while sun screening the toddlers cheeks until he felt Jongin's little hand plop into his face. “I do for mama!” 

Baekhyun heard Chanyeol laugh and quickly agreed with his ears reddening, hoping he hadn’t been zoned out long. “Go ahead, Nini bear! We have to make sure the sun doesn’t get us, huh?”

“Sun _mean.”_ Kyungsoo commented, kicking his feet back and forth from his spot on Chanyeol's hip, his alligator tears gone and replaced with a heart shaped smile, “Shwim?” 

“Let’s swim, grumpy pants! Yeol will tea- I mean, ask mommy if you can go swimming now?” 

Baekhyun laughed and rolled his eyes as he sat back to pull off his tank top, “Chanyeol. You know you’re the adult here too, you don’t have to ask me for everything.” 

_“Cuz Loel big!”_ Jongin cried, reaching up towards Baekhyun with a whine.

“Because Yeol is a big boy and the babies are _babies,”_ Baekhyun snickered and accepted him as he stood up, “So let’s swim! Yay!” 

_“Yayy!”_

“Race you.” Chanyeol chuckled before he was taking off which was completely unfair considering Baekhyun was _not_ built to run through sand; he was off balanced already and Jongin never stopped squirming.

So he pouted and yelled behind him, “That's so not fair!” 

With a toddler giggling in his ear Baekhyun sulked his way over - he was a very sore loser - and promptly stuck his foot in the shallows to kick water at Chanyeol. 

“Mama _no!”_ Kyungsoo screamed and flailed as if the water actually did anything other than make him colder seeing as Chanyeol was only holding him so his legs were in it. He whined, squirmed and clawed at Chanyeol’s shoulder to sit higher.

Baekhyun heard Jongin laughing his head off and giggled, “Chanyeol is mean.” 

In response the man just grinned ear to ear and shifted Kyungsoo to hold him properly in the water. The toddler began to whine aloud instantly, fakely crying and bug eyed as he kicked. 

“Dramatic,” Baekhyun laughed and shook his head as walked into the shallows, “Soo, it's just water.” 

Of course that didn't help at all, it just made the toddler squeal more until Baekhyun was snickering and holding Jongin in the water too.

The larger twin laughed with joy and kicked around like a guppy the second Baekhyun released him to hold the handle on the back of his life jacket.

“Look at Nini, Soo!” He cooed, “Go, Nini! My big boy! Kyungsoo, don’t you want to be a big boy too? Mommy and Chanyeol want you to be a big boy!”

 _“No!”_ Kyungsoo shrieked and only then did Baekhyun realize Kyungsoo wasn't having fun at all. He'd been so excited to learn how to swim, but the drive must have taken its toll on him.

“Ah, sh, sh,” Chanyeol began to worry, pulling him up and into his chest, eyes blown wide, “Aw, poor baby. Sh, I got you..” 

He began to do the familiar sniffling that let Baekhyun know he was tired and the carrier sighed and picked Jongin up although he wasn’t fussy - but knowing the twins the second he took Kyungsoo out of the water Jongin would begin crying for him too.

Two _inseparable_ gremlins.

“Okay, okay,” Baekhyun soothed, reaching out to grab Kyungsoo from Chanyeol.

The other looked at him like he had something to say, like he didn’t want to give Kyungsoo up since he was cuddling so much, but he had no say in what Baekhyun did with the kids, so he just watched.

Kyungsoo sniffled and clutched Baekhyun’s neck and the carrier smiled and kissed his hair when Jongin reached over with a _Soo, it’s ‘kay!_ to pat his brother's arm.

It was difficult carrying both twins, especially considering they were all soaking wet, but Baekhyun wouldn’t complain.

“You need a nap?” 

_“Mhm. Swump?”_

“Scrump is in the bag, baby,” Baekhyun promised, dropping both the twins on the blanket not far from the water, “Are you going to take a nap?” 

“Nini sweep too?” Kyungsoo asked with eyes pink and droopy as Baekhyun snatched a towel to dry off his body.

“I see Soo!” Jongin replied with a nod of his head and a _humph,_ yanking his own Paw Patrol towel over his head. 

They both looked ridiculous with these life jackets on that were double their size, but Baekhyun wouldn’t take them off until they were safely away from the water. Even if it was for a nap, because _someone_ had to get some swimming done.

It’d been a long drive, and he'd slept through most of it with his cheek on the center console and Chanyeol’s fingers petting his head, so he felt way too bad to just demand Chanyeol take them home and _not_ get to swim.

“Nini watches Soo, and Kyungsoo watches Jongin,” Baekhyun agreed, “And mommy and Yeol will watch you both, there are snacks in your bag and toys, so just take a nap, okay, baby? You can try swimming when you get up.” 

“Mama shwim?” 

Baekhyun grinned and leaned over to press a kiss to Kyungsoo's hair and gently pinching Jongin's side seeing as the toddler was already digging for toys, “I’m going to swim for a little and keep an eye on you, maybe you can build sand castles until you want a nap. Nini likes sand castles.” 

_“Yup!”_ Jongin chirped and had a bright smile on his face as he held a plastic shovel out and pushed it into Kyungsoo's hand, “Soo dig, I make.” 

With a fond laugh Baekhyun got back up seeing as the twins _certainly_ didn’t need his instructions on how to make a mess, but they would have fun so it was okay.

But when he turned around Baekhyun felt slightly… _guilty_ when he noticed Chanyeol was just sort of kicking in the water himself, watching them with something akin to sadness.

Baekhyun didn’t mean to make him feel left out; he tried not to, but sometimes it was just natural of him to take control of the situation when it came down to the kids…

“Just me and you,” Baekhyun beamed and tucked his hair out of his face as he splashed back into the crystal clear water, “Hope you don’t mind.” 

But the good thing about Chanyeol was the fact that he got over things so quickly. That, or he hid them well.

“Me? Upset to be with you? _Please,”_ Chanyeol snickered and wrapped his arms around Baekhyun's waist the moment he was close enough. 

“You just looked upset,” Baekhyun replied, draping arms over Chanyeol’s shoulders and pressing into his chest.

“Over what?” Chanyeol laughed and pressed a kiss to his temple, running his hands over Baekhyun’s spine beneath the water, “I’m not upset, babe. There’s no reason to be, I’m with the twins and _you,_ my favorite people.” 

Baekhyun laughed and shook his head, “You're such a liar.” 

“What?” Chanyeol cried playfully, pulling away a bit to tickle Baekhyun’s stomach making the smaller blush when his fingers ran across his c-section scar, but Chanyeol didn’t comment, he just smiled with his nose scrunched a bit and eyes bright. “I _never lie!”_

Baekhyun never gave Chanyeol enough time. He never just simply _looked_ at him. 

And god, he was _gorgeous._

“Okay.” Baekhyun murmured and leaned closer to press a kiss to the corner of his mouth, “I believe you.” 

Chanyeol had a huge smile on his face as he left his hands on Baekhyun’s waist, humming and feeling his soft skin beneath the water.

“You know, sometimes it’s just like… strange.” 

_“Mhm?”_ Baekhyun mused into his collarbone.

“Like, just looking at you and the kids, you guys are like… an entire little family all on your own. I guess… it just makes me envious sometimes, I’m old and still haven’t had time to do things like this. Not until I had an excuse to, like now.” 

Baekhyun’s lips parted in shock and he sat up with a shake of his head, “No. Chan. The kids love you. You’ve done great things in your life. I don’t mean to… make you feel left out or…” 

“I don’t.” Chanyeol shushed, chuckling, “We’re on vacation, let’s not do this now, okay?”

 _“You brought it up,”_ Baekhyun grumbled, sticking his lips out in a pout.

He expected Chanyeol to kiss it away when he leaned down, because that's what normally happened when he whined and pouted, but what he got instead were hands around his hips and his feet lifted from the sandy under bottom of the ocean. He barely had enough time to yell out a _Chanyeol don’t!_

Of course, Chanyeol _did._

Baekhyun spluttered as he was thrown a foot or two away and sinking into the water, thankfully out into the deeper part of the ocean, and when he got to the surface his hair stuck down on his head making him look like a wet puppy with his pouty eyes. _“You're lucky you're bigger than me, Park Chanyeol! I can’t believe-“_

“The kids love it!” Chanyeol yelled, and in the background of his laughing Baekhyun heard the high pitched giggling and wiped the water out of his eyes to find it.

Jongin was jumping on the sand with an orange bucket swinging back and forth and Kyungsoo was rather tiredly laying across the blanket with his shovel half stuck in the sand - he was forever Jongin's victim of forced playtime.

They were both giggling, despite Kyungsoo’s drowsy eyes. 

“Again, Loel!” Jongin yelled, “Again, ‘gain!” 

Baekhyun gawked and turned to look at Chanyeol. 

His boyfriend _smirked._

“No!” Baekhyun turned to swim away as fast as his legs could carry him.

Which wasn’t that fast considering Chanyeol was built like an Olympic athlete and had him over his shoulder in a minute flat. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This sounded like a good idea in my head, but it seems boring now 👉🏻👈🏻


	53. Extra: It’s Valentine’s Day (Or Is It?)

The thing about being pregnant that Baekhyun hadn’t experienced before was _neediness._

Baekhyun didn’t actually consider himself all that needy of a person - that was mostly Chanyeol. 

Chanyeol just happened to want to hold hands at all times, hold his waist, or snuggle him. _All the time,_ so Baekhyun didn’t really ever need to be needy when Chanyeol was on him at the drop of a hat.

But, this pregnancy made him needy. He didn’t know why, and he was confused about having so many raging hormones so soon into pregnancy. He was still only semi-showing, just a small curve of his stomach that they could hide, and normally he didn’t get these jumping emotions so fast.

He also didn’t normally get cravings so fast, but that was how they ended up walking downtown at midnight on Valentine’s Day. 

For Valentine’s Day, Baekhyun had taken Chanyeol out to dinner, because normally it was the opposite, and they’d exchanged flowers and gifts - the shining necklace on Chanyeol's neck was proof of how excited he was over his gift, he wouldn’t take it off now - but after making love and sleeping for a few hours Baekhyun was up again. 

And dragging Chanyeol out to get him ice cream, because his husband didn’t complain about him being needy at all, he loved it.

The ice cream shops were closed and Baekhyun was needy. He was pouting and placing the lower half of his face behind the collar of his marshmallow coat. 

“How about something else, baby?” Chanyeol crooned, a half amused and half apologetic tone as he steered Baekhyun down the street with a hand on his spine. 

_“No.”_

“You’re a grump.” 

“Don’t talk to me like I’m one of the kids.” 

“They’d agree with me, if they weren’t at Jun’s I could hear Jongin: _Mommy is grumpy again! Grumpy pant-“_

Baekhyun whined and turned to wrap his arms around Chanyeol's waist, groaning loud and dramatically as he slumped against him, making the man stop to hold him. 

“Aish,” Chanyeol laughed and hugged him back, leaning down a bit to place his chin onto Baekhyun’s head, “We had a good Valentine’s Day, baby. Don't let your missing ice cream ruin your mood.” 

“It’s the _baby_ that wants ice cream.” 

“Baby, stop giving mommy a hard time, okay?” 

Baekhyun scowled at Chanyeol's teasing tone and delivered a light smack to the outside of his coat before huffing and clutching his husbands back to try and press closer, “Hold me and shut up.” 

“Nobody silences my jokes-“

He spoke too soon because all Baekhyun had to do was lift his head so their noses brushed and Chanyeol stopped talking to lean closer, obviously thinking he was going to receive a kiss.

But when Baekhyun’s lip quirked up in amusement the man scrunched his nose in distaste. “That’s not fair.” 

“Life’s not fair, Yeol.” The carrier shot back, giggling as he pulled away to do a quick walk ahead, looking more like a penguin waddle from his huge coat. 

_“Get over here and kiss me!”_

Baekhyun squeaked, although expecting the arms grabbing his waist, but Chanyeol was really heavy when he slumped over his back like this.

“I will throw you over my shoulder and carry you home right now, Baek! You know I could!” 

With one last squirm Baekhyun whined and threw his head back onto Chanyeol's shoulder with a breathy laugh, “I’ll never kiss you, _sir._ I don’t even _know you!”_

Chanyeol released a laugh that sounded like he was trying to restrain it before he stood up properly to stand in front of Baekhyun, moving to fix the zipper of the carrier's coat up to his chin.

“The name is Park Chanyeol - rich, and I’ve heard I’m handsome, isn't that all that all you need to know?” 

“Good personality?” 

“Hm, that’s debatable.” 

“You got kids?”

“The cutest kids in the world.” 

Baekhyun snickered and shook his head fondly as he cupped Chanyeol's cheek, “I don't date liars, _sorry.”_ He cooed, patting his face before sticking hands in his pockets and walking off.

Chanyeol gawked and stomped his feet like a child as he slumped after him once again, “Where’s the lie!” 

“I never said you were handsome.” 

_“Yah!”_

Baekhyun burst into giggles, pressing his lips together as his husband laid a protective hand on his waist. He began to feel bad about Chanyeol’s pout after a moment even though he knew it was fake and wrapped an arm around the larger man’s back.

“It’s Valentine’s Day,” Chanyeol finally spoke up with an audible whine after a moment, “You called me ugly, you dragged me out so late, _and_ won’t even give me a kiss - tell me what I’m being punished for.”

“You big _baby.”_ Baekhyun cried, “Plus, it’s not even Valentine’s Day anymore! It’s past midnight!”

“As long as I’m wearing my Valentine’s necklace then it’s Valentine’s Day.” 

“Chan,” Baekhyun deadpanned, “I know you’re not going to take it off.” 

“Then it looks like it’s always Valentine’s Day. Sorry, babe, I don’t make the rules.” 

Unable to deal with it anymore, Baekhyun turned to cup his cheeks, standing on his top toes to press a smacking kiss into his lips. 

Chanyeol's face was still a bit swollen with sleep and his messy hair was fighting it's way out from under his cap, but he looked handsome all the same. He _always_ looked gorgeous. 

“See? That’s all I wanted.” Chanyeol smirked a bit, pressing a hand on Baekhyun’s back to press him closer, “That wasn’t too hard.” 

The carrier debated for a moment on working him up some more, but instead felt incredibly needy and wrapped his arms around Chanyeol's neck to tug him down and hug him, “You’re really pushing it.” He muffled into Chanyeol's cheek.

“It’s Valentine’s-“

“It’s _not.”_

“It is though, I told you-“

“Shut up, handsome.”

“So you _do_ think I’m handsome!” 

Baekhyun turned to walk off on his own for the third time tonight, only because he knew Chanyeol would come running after to send him the cutest pout.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you guys didn’t see, I posted a new chaptered story!! It’s called Room 107~~~
> 
> It’s going to be a ride 🥺

**Author's Note:**

> Twitter: Gigi_B56 - Come see sneak peeks of stories!
> 
> https://curiouscat.qa/Gigi_B56 - Ask me questions!


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